


Sweetly Wicked

by danaandme



Category: Faberry - Fandom, Glee
Genre: Alternate Universe, Community: glee_angst_meme, Drama, Faberry Week, G!P, M/M, Other, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-02-12
Updated: 2014-10-15
Packaged: 2018-01-12 03:53:45
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 46,514
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1181564
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/danaandme/pseuds/danaandme
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>FABERRY. AU. "Why is it so easy to get lost in those brown eyes? Damn Rachel Berry ... and damn every minute that I can't spend by her side ..." Oh Yeah...Quinn Fabray really tried but in the end nothing could get her away from that person that would change her life forever. Warning: G!P</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

 

**Okay. Here's a big warning.**  
 **This story contains G!P.**

This is my first work in this genre and I really ask that if you do not sympathize with the subject, please do not continue.

I understand that many fics with G!P's contents are extremely pornographic, but I remind you that we also have several stories with characters G!P that can develop a wonderful storyline and this is the goal of Sweetly Wicked.

So if you decided to continue reading ... you're welcome.

Oh, and if any of you are also FF MINE, I'd like to apologize for the delay, but I can guarantee that the chapters are already translated and corrected and I plan to update them ASAP just a little more patience, plz.

**Danaandme**

**Beta: **rakestrawberry.****


	2. Chapter 01 - No One Mourns The Wicked

 

**_Sweetly Wicked_ **

**_Chapter 01 - No One Mourns The Wicked_ **

_'Damn Rachel Berry.'_

Quinn cursed while she emptied another glass of alcohol in it. She didn't even knew what she was drinking anymore. It could have been a scotch or maybe whiskey? She frowned, looking at the now empty glass.

_'You know what? Who cares! Booze is booze.'_

At the moment the only thing she was certain of was that she had definitely consumed a lot more alcohol that she was suppose to. She looked once more at the party going on around her. Puckerman's house was crowded with teenagers, many of them drunk and dancing like lunatics.

The music was too loud and some people were talking even louder over it, red in the face. In the middle of all that madness it was almost impossible to discern one living soul from another, and that was something that was making Quinn even angrier than she already was, because it didn't matter how many people were in front of her, she would always find _her_. She could always tell exactly where she was and what she was doing.

_'Damn her, anyway. Damn everything about her. Damn her, damn her, damn her.'_

Quinn opened the cooler beside her and pulled out another bottle of what looked like one of those delicious wine coolers that she grown to love tonight. She took a gulp and realized it tasted like lemon vodka. ' _Oh, whatever._ ' She turned it upside down and the alcohol slid down her throat, burning all the way down.

It didn't matter to her that she'd drunk so much, she didn't even know what she was drinking anymore, because the only thing that was really pissing her off was knowing who she was going to end up seeing. Damn Rachel Berry for tormenting her piece of mind. Tonight she would take the necessary steps to settle once and for all, all these damn problems and questions that have been filling her mind and preventing her from thinking straight for the past two weeks.

Rachel Berry would leave her dreams, her mind and her soul alone after tonight. Two weeks of torture was more than enough and Quinn would finally be free again.

So she threw the empty bottle in the sink and impetuously crossed the kitchen and through the living room, walking past all those people towards her target.

**Two Weeks Earlier**

"Come on, Quinn. It's really going to be great!"

Quinn looks away towards the end of the hall looking for something more interesting to do. Sometimes Finn could irritate her by simply being alive, and at those moments she really had to struggle to remember why she had agreed to go out with him in first place.

"Your definition of 'great ' is questionable, Finn."

He frowned, uncomprehending.

"What do you mean?"

"What I mean is that anything you think could be incredibly wonderful and fun could easily be compared to your future in that glee club: a complete failure."

"Now you're being mean for no reason."

Finn seemed genuinely hurt but she couldn't muster up enough sensitivity to care about his feelings. In fact, his reaction only left her annoyed.

Did he not understand that she'd been through enough, by having to put up with the cutting comments of her classmates about how Finn Hudson, her boyfriend, was now part of the most despised club in the whole school? No, of course not. Now he was asking her to accompany him to glee rehearsal. Who the Hell did he think she was?

"Quinn, we talked about this last week. You know I have no way out. Mr. Schue-"

"You know how you made me look when you, _my boyfriend_ , went on stage to sing along with Rachel Freak-Show Berry, huh, Finn?"

Finn seemed a bit cornered by her comment, but he puffed out his chest in an attempt to keep his dignity.

"Now you're really being really mean, Quinn. I agree that Rachel is a little crazy and kind of a babbling freak sometimes, but she's a good person and it's not cool talk about her condition like that. "

Quinn could not believe what she was hearing.

"Are you crazy? That's not a disease, Finn. That's not something that will heal over time or with some kind of medication. For God's sake, she has a pen-" she looked around and lowered the volume of her voice to almost a whisper, "She has _it_ between her legs, Finn. That thing that only boys should have. She's a freak!"

It was no secret that Rachel Barbra Berry was born with a penis. Everybody in the small and biased city of Lima knew the sad story of the girl with the male genitalia, who was rejected by her mother at birth and put up for adoption after. Oh, and of course, the cherry on top: the little freak was adopted by a gay couple.

Quinn remembered very well that on her first day in middle school, the teachers talked with the students about the 'special condition' of certain people, and how sometimes some of us are a little different. At the time, she didn't understand what they meant by all that, but when she went home and asked her parents about 'these special people', Quinn understood very well that there was nothing special about any of _those people_. Just the memory of the threatening speech that her father made gave get her chills.

Since that day, no matter that everybody told her - that for all intents and purposes, Rachel Berry was a girl - Quinn never approached her again and she decided dislike her from that point on.

"You know what, Quinn? I'm your boyfriend and you should support me."

Apparently Finn was having one of those rare days where he grew some courage and decided to face the wrath of his girlfriend.

"I'm sick of always giving in to you and getting nothing in return," he said as he closed his locker and turned around, stomping down the hallway.

She grimaced and snapped her head at a boy whose gaze had wandered over to her. "What are you looking at?!"

The guy stammered his apologies and quickly moved away from her. Quinn glared in the direction that her boyfriend had gone. She was especially upset, because she understood perfectly what he meant by 'nothing in return.'

Quinn was known throughout the school for taking the slogan, _'It's all about the teasing and not about the pleasing,'_ to extreme measures and there had been a few times that she had to stop her boyfriend when they were making out.

"This is going to be a huge problem for you very soon, Ice Queen."

Santana's voice pulled the girl from her thoughts. "This is _not_ your problem, Lopez," she said, turning toward the smirking cheerleader.

Santana stared at her for a moment, amused. "Whatever you say, Q. Whatever you say," she snorted.

Quinn watched the girl smiled mischievously as she walked away.

Maybe today didn't start well for Quinn, but she took a breath and masked her anger, intending to keep her schedule on point as if nothing was really bothering her, but apparently some higher force had decided that today was the day to make Quinn Fabray lose her patience and at lunch break, she definitely reached her limit.

Seated at the center table in the cafeteria with all the students that really mattered were her boyfriend Finn Hudson and her _'friend'_ Santana Lopez. She watched as they talked and laughed together and anyone would have they looked like two friends talking and having a good time together.

But Quinn knew better.

Finn smiled like an idiot and Santana only had one of her hands on the table. Soon, she noticed Quinn watching them from the other side of the room, and she smiled evilly and whispered something in Finn's ear that made his jaw drop.

That's it. That was the last straw.

Quinn didn't mind of losing Finn Hudson, she didn't even like him that much, but being humiliated in front of the whole school, that really bothered her and Santana knew it.

Blind with rage she weaved through the tables with one goal in mind. Unfortunately, her plans to tear the heads of her targets clean off were brutally interrupted when she bumped into a person who had unwittingly crossed her way. She grunted and the next thing she knew, she was lying on the cafeteria floor with Rachel Berry lying on top of her.

"Oh my God. What are you doing? Get away from me, you freak!"

Quinn tried to get up, but Rachel was in her way.

"What's wrong with you, Quinn? Do you not even look where you're going?"

Quinn stared at the girl lying on her torso. People began to gather to see what happened.

"GET. OFF. ME. YOU. CREEPY... _THING_!"

She shouted, pushing Rachel away. The tiny girl rolled on the floor beside her. Finn pushed through the crowd and approached to see what happened.

"Quinn?" he said, "Are you okay?"

He looked at Rachel, who was sitting on the floor staring at Quinn with a furious expression on her face and then he turned to his girlfriend, asking, "What did you do to her?"

Quinn gritted her teeth.

"Me? It was _that thing_ that knocked me down!"

Finn helped Quinn to get up and to everyone's surprise, he reacheed out his hand to Rachel soon after. Quinn's eyes widen at him. Rachel smiled appreciatively, and gave Quinn an unfriendly look.

"You should watch where you're going, Miss Type A Barbie."

"Watch your mouth, RuPaul."

Finn hold back Quinn's shoulders, stopping her from attacking the other girl.

"You're pressing all the wrong buttons Quinn Fabray and one day you will regret it," Rachel said, before whipping her hair and storming off.

Quinn blanched. If looks could kill, Rachel would be dead and buried by now.

_'What the hell is going on with everyone today? What? Today was the day to challenge Quinn Fabray's authority? Everything has been already beyond my imagination.'_

Quinn shook Finn's hands away from her shoulders and stormed out, outraged, and pushing everyone in her path. She lost the opportunity to slay Finn and Santana, but she won't allow that little creepy thing to get away like this. Oh yeah, Rachel Berry would feel the wrath of Quinn fucking Fabray.

The head Cheerio left the cafeteria snorting with rage. She saw Rachel walking briskly toward at the end of the hall and marched in the same direction. When Rachel entered the auditorium, it didn't take long for Quinn to invade the place, ready to dump all her anger and frustration on the small brunette.

Completely blinded by rage, Quinn almost stumbles again on the girl, who was standing with her hands on her hips near the front door, already waiting for her.

"Get away from me, Treasure Trail!" Quinn scoffed at the girl trying to recover from the shock of almost have bumped into her again.

"I'm really trying to but apparently you're the one who can't leave me alone!" the little diva yelled.

Rachel breathed heavily through her nose. This was not going to turn out well. She thought Quinn would settle for ordering more slushie facials against her - she didn't imagine she would follow her through the school to settle things the old-fashioned way.

This was not a good day for Rachel. The tiny girl was trying so hard to calm down, mainly because her mood was really bad these days. Yeah, Rachel Berry that used to boasting about how she was a controlled and poised person, but she felt like she had something boiling inside her body ready to explode.

Even her parents had called her out because of her bad temper lately. But Quinn didn't know that. Actually, Quinn didn't know many things about Rachel. Especially that she was not ready for an angry Rachel, because if she had known, she certainly would not have made her mad.

But then this was the only way that Quinn used to handling things that bothered her, so she gave the girl a cold glare.

"Who the Hell do you think you are? You can't talk to me like that in front of the whole school!"

And that was all it took for Rachel to lose it. Well, Quinn should have understood by now that today was the day that nothing would work the way she wanted it to work. So instead of seeing Rachel bow in fear before her HBICness, Quinn was surprised when the little diva stepped forward and cornered her by the wall.

"Who the Hell do _you_ think you are, Quinn? It was you who bumped into me and threw me on the floor. It was you who made me look like an idiot in front of everyone and it was you who followed me here to keep teasing me! YOU are the one who should apologize for all your grossness!"

"How dare you? You little frea-"

Quinn could not continue, as Rachel lost all control of her temper and threw herself at the head Cheerio, holding the girl's body against the wall with her own.

"THAT'S ENOUGH! NOT THIS TIME, FABRAY!" Rachel yelled.

Quinn stared at her blankly. It was unbelievable how such a small person could be so strong.

"I'm sick of your little games of power, Quinn. This obsession you have to make my life a living Hell is already completely out of control. I will not tolerate you or your threats anymore! What did I do to deserve this much hatred?"

Their faces were millimeters apart from each other, and both of the girls were breathing heavy. Rachel's body was pressed hard against Quinn's and for a moment, the blonde felt more vulnerable than she ever had.

"You were born," Quinn replied dryly, infuriated.

Rachel frowned and noticed that her pupils were dilated, that she was panting and that some of her blonde locks had fallen out of her ponytail and into her face. She looked wild. She looked sexy.

"You mean that _this_ is what bothers you so much, Quinn?"

Out of boldness and frustration, Rachel pressed her groin roughly against the girl's mini skirt, causing Quinn to choke on air, completely blindsided by the other girl's unexpected deviancy.

"You know what, Quinn. I feel sorry for girls like you that have to pretend to always be content with your poor boyfriend and his little dick, when I, on the other hand, could offer you the best nine inches of pleasure all night long no danger of pregnancy." The brunette smiled at Quinn's gasps, "Even my tongue can do a better job than those football-caveman."

She presses her groin against the head Cheerio's body one more time before pulling away and walking out of the auditorium without another word. Quinn slid down the wall, unable to feel her legs.

Did that actually just happen?

The girl tried to catch her breath, her heart seemed like it wanted to come out of her chest. She took a trembling hand to her chest. She could still feel the force of Rachel's body pressing into her and for a moment she wished that she had not gone.

No.

Quinn couldn't believe what she was thinking.

No.

She couldn't admit that she liked the feeling Rachel getting hard against her body.

No.

She couldn't hear that voice in her head that was begging for Rachel to push it even further into her.

No.

That was wrong.

That was a sin.

That was sick.

Quinn kept telling herself, as she got up and straightened her hair and took a deep breath. She went to her next class and told herself that none of it mattered. There's no way Rachel Berry could make her feel like that.

She could not be more wrong.

**Present Day**

' _God, please forgive me for I have sinned. Forgive me because I can't get these thoughts out of my head. Please Father, free me from the temptation and all that is unholy. Amen.'_

"Oh my God, yes, please don't stop," Quinn panted as Rachel thrust in and out of her at a rapid pace.

"You're so fucking tight. Holy shit, Quinn," Rachel moaned low, picking up speed.

As Quinn continued to moan and beg for more, she could feel a tightness buildup in her stomach, signaling that she was very close again. She could feel her the pleasure creeping up on her, ready to burst.

"Oh, fuck. Y-Yes I'm going to..."

"You're feeling so good. Tell me what you want, Quinn."

"Oh, God. I want _you_." She moaned softly. "I want _you_. Oh God, _Rachel..._ "

**Three Hours Earlier**

Quinn couldn't take it anymore. It had been two weeks since that day at the auditorium and Rachel's words were repeated in her mind just like a fucking mantra.

She couldn't forget about how she felt and after two weeks of insomnia, suppressing all desires and wishes that she was feeling, Quinn decided to deal with her problems in the same way that the vast majority of the inconsequential teenagers in this town dealt with things… Drinking until she couldn't think straight.

That Friday night, she dismissed Finn - who once again chose to stay at home playing a 'Call of Duty' marathon - and made her appearance at Noah Puckerman's party, determined to purge all those sinful and dirty thoughts out of her mind by drinking a ridiculous amount of alcohol.

She never imagined this kind of situation. Craving a girl, and not just any girl. _No! It had to be her! The one and only Rachel Barbra Berry._

Quinn got into the party a little after nine and had barely been there ten seconds when she went to the kitchen and grabbed the first bottle of alcohol that was offered to her.

"Looking good, Fabray. Where's your boyfriend? He shouldn't be leaving you alone, especially when you're looking so fucking delicious," Puck leered.

"Leave me alone, Puckerman. I'm not in the mood. Save it for girls like Santana who are always available for guys without a brain. "

"Ouch. Someone needs to loosen up a bit. Maybe some time with the Puckasaurus can pull you out of that bad mood babe. "

"You're wasting your mojo, Puck. You see, my girl Quinn here is not interested in your talents," Santana said, approaching them with a beer bottle in her hand. Quinn rolls her eyes.

"Get lost, Lopez. I don't need this kind of shit from you either. "

Santana's eyes widened, feigning surprise. "Wow! Our Majesty just cussed out loud? Oh my, maybe that holy mind of yours ain't so sacred like I thought it was. Or perhaps something else got your holy thoughts corrupted, my Queen. "

Quinn couldn't reach Santana's throat before Puck could grab her and keep her away from the other girl. It seemed that, once again, the world was against Quinn Fabray and the girl's plans of having a quiet night, drowning her problems with alcohol, were bound to fly out the window.

_'G-R-E-A-T'_ , Quinn thought.

"Easy, Quinn," said Puck, still holding the Cheerio.

"You. Are. Done. Lopez," she threatened.

Santana merely nodded and winked at the raging blonde in Puck's arms. She could seem indifferent and moody, but she knew how to push all the buttons of her captain.

In all those years of friendship, Quinn was always able to mask all her frustrations and feelings beneath her HBIC façade. The mask could work against the vast majority of people, but not with Santana Lopez.

_'No, no babe. Aunt San knows better.'_

Santana's Mexican third eye always knew more about Quinn than she thought she knew.

"If you remove that holy stick from your ass then maybe you could loosen up and have some fun. Enjoy life it's not too late."

"I'm going to show you who needs-"

"No, you won't. Not tonight and not in my house. Damn, Q, babe you really need to relax a little," Puck sighed.

"Leave me alone, Puckerman!" Quinn said as she pulled herself out of the boy's grip.

She turned away to the kitchen door to vent her anger on someone else, when she ran into the last person she wanted to see that night

"Berry?! I can't believe it! What the hell are you doing here? "

Rachel straightened her sweater and looked at the head cheerleader.

"By any chance, are you unable to walk without running over someone, Quinn?"

Quinn narrowed her eyes at the little diva and Puck grabbed the cheerleader by the shoulders again. Rachel ignored Quinn's reaction completely and looked at Puck.

"Noah, she already had dinner and I put her to sleep."

The boy smiled, a little bewildered.

"I– is-... Thanks, Rachel. But Mom warned you about-"

Rachel didn't let him finish. "Oh, yes. She warned me that I should take care of her during the night. " The girl glanced at Quinn. "Until you expunged all these people from her house." The boy tightened his grip on Quinn.

"It's okay. Make yourself at home, Rachel," Puck said.

"I was just going to grab some water and then I'll go check on Jess again. After that, I'll be in the guest's bedroom, Noah." She threw an angry look at Quinn. "Oh, and please don't allow your guests to bother me."

She turned around and disappeared among the partiers. Quinn turned back to Puck, surprisingly calm.

"Explain."

"What? She is babysitting Jess, Okay? My mom is out of town and she knows me too well. So she asked Rachel to come over just in case I get myself drunk enough to forget how to take care of my little sister."

Quinn's eyes widened. "She's babysitting your little sister?" For the first time in years Quinn saw the boy's eyes spark with genuine anger.

"Listen, Q. Rachel and I went to the same synagogue since birth. Understand? My mother trusts her more than anyone else in the world, because oddly enough my mom knows how to judge someone's character a lot better than you do. So, don't come here and trash on Rachel in front of me. Just because Rachel has more than she should have between her legs it doesn't make her a pervert-freak-monster, okay? Keep your drama at school and leave my baby sister and my Girl-Bro, Rachel, alone." And with that he walked away.

_'What the actual fuck!'_ Quinn thought.

This just couldn't be happening. Why was God doing this to her? How could she resist the temptation and all those sinful feelings that Rachel made her feel without everyone supporting her hatred?

Quinn felt her heart race and Rachel's words were once again in her mind. The sensation of their bodies together. Rachel's crotch pulsing against her.

_'Fuck.'_

Quinn walked into the kitchen and grabbed another wine cooler. Her hazel eyes roamed the crowd, instantly finding the figure of Rachel Berry holding two bottles of water and headed up the stairs that gave access to the family's bedrooms. She emptied the bottle, then she threw it in the sink and opened another one.

_'Please Lord give me the power to resist. Help me to be a good girl. '_

**Two Hours Later**

_'Damn that Rachel Berry. Why does she keep popping up everytime I look around?'_

Quinn ran a hand through her hair. It was almost as if her body could feel the presence of the other girl every time she came down to get water, or a serving from something in the kitchen.

The amount of people in the house had increased considerably, as the amount of alcohol in Quinn's body. The girl had consumed all the varieties of the drinks available at the party and her mind was increasingly muddled as she watched Rachel coming and going _._

_'It should not make sense,'_ Quinn thought to herself.

In her mind the ideas formed too quickly and perhaps because of the influence of alcohol, all that madness that she was thinking began to make sense because suddenly, Quinn Fabray smirked and got up from the kitchen counter, on which she was sitting during the last half hour, and headed toward the stairs with one goal in mind.

_'Maybe this is a sign. I mean. Think about it. It can't exactly be a sin because she has a..._ _you know..._ _Well, that should make her different, shouldn't it? Like, she is the exception? Then, it may mean that is not so sinful to think about doing it with her. Because I'm not thinking in her as a girl, right? And that doesn't make me an abomination, does it? I mean, I searched on Google and there are some theories that angels can have both genitalia at the same time._ _But then... This makes her an angel?_ _She sings like one. Oh, I love - I LIKE! I like her voice, it's so smooth and her smile is so cute and her legs-... '_

"What on Earth are you doing here, Quinn?"

Quinn was pulled away from her thoughts, completely surprised. She had not realized that she had climbed the stairs and was walking aimlessly through the second floor of the house. Rachel stood in the middle of the corridor, arms crossed against her chest staring at her angrily.

"I asked, what are you doing here, Quinn?"

"I'm… lost?" Quinn replied with a smirk and a shrug. _'I never noticed that Rachel is kind of cute when she angry.'_ Quinn shook her heard. _'WHAT WAS THAT? CUTE? What the hell, Fabray!'_

"You're drunk!" the other girl gasped.

Quinn's eyes widened. Rachel stared at her for a moment, frowning and with her chin locked. She seemed to be pondering something.

Quinn looked back, unable to contain a mischievous grin. The blonde joined her hands behind her and cocked her head sideways. Rachel sighed and walked over to the girl, taking her by the hand.

"This better not be another joke, Quinn Fabray. Should I remind you that today I am assisting a child? Because if this is your idea of fun I must say that playing tricks with me while I'm working is a-"

Rachel paused immediately when she felt the blonde press one finger against her lips.

"Shhhhhhhh. How can someone so small can make so much noise? "

"Despite having every right to be offended by that comment about my height, this time I'll leave that aside because of your obvious state of intoxication."

"I'm not drunk. I have full discernment and control over my actions," Quinn attempted to walk as if on a trapeze and tripped over her own feet, and Rachel held her by the waist, holding the girl's body next to her.

"I can see that. You really have everything under control. Come on Quinn, you need to lie down."

Rachel led her to the guest room, closing the door as Quinn leaned over her. She noticed that Quinn was looking at her intently but before she could say anything, the cheerleader touched her face with one hand and asked in a hoarse whisper, almost like she was talking to herself, "Why do you make my heart beat so fast? It's like it wants to get out of my chest."

"W-What?"

"You heard me. I try to stay away, I try not to be bothered by you, but I can't let you go. Why?" The hazel eyes sparkled at her with desire and Rachel felt her body tremble. "What did you do to me, Rachel?"

Rachel stared at her completely stunned, nothing could have prepared her for that situation.

"W-What you mean?"

Quinn didn't seem to hear her, apparently she was so lost in her own doubts and desires that her thoughts continue to turning into words escaping from her mouth.

"God can't be so cruel. He wouldn't make me feel like this if it was a sin, would He? I've always been a good Christian. "

"Quinn I'm not-..." Quinn's hands fondled Rachel's face as her eyes wandered over the brunette's.

"But you might be a temptation. Something that is here to test me... "

Her gaze was intense and curious and the movements of her fingers over Rachel's skin were gentle and soft, almost like she was trying to memorize every inch of the face. Rachel pushed her hands away.

"I'm nothing more that a human being, Quinn. Just like you. I don't understand what you're saying-"

Quinn pressed her lips against Rachel's, making the world around them disappear. They fell into bed together and Quinn tried to deepen the kiss before Rachel pulled away.

"Quinn? What is this? What are we doing?" the brunette asked breathlessly.

Rachel was perplexed. She just couldn't believe what was happening. Why was Quinn doing this? What could she possibly want? Could it be for the simple pleasure of seeing her get baffled by making her get horny? Could Quinn be so cruel to the point to get Rachel all hot and bothered, to get her hard only humiliate her by calling her a freak?

"So sweet. The way I thought it would be..." Quinn said with a dreamy smile completely oblivious to Rachel's fear, "I want more."

The girl leaned in to kiss Rachel, but Rachel pushed her away and sat up.

"This is a joke, right? You just want to..."

Quinn blinked a few times, irritated that Rachel was denying her what she wanted. Then, with a smile, she unzipped her dress and quickly slipped out of it, leaving her only in her bra and underwear.

Rachel gasped. "Quinn!"

The blonde chuckled and began to unhook her bra. Rachel's eyes widened and she grabbed the blonde's hands in a desperate attempt to halt what she was doing.

"I want you," Quinn said, "And I know you want me too. I felt it that day in the auditorium."

Rachel's eyes widened even more. The mention of that day, and the sight of Quinn practically naked made her cock pulse with desire.

"I can't stop thinking about you, Rachel. I want to feel your body against mine again."

Rachel shook her head, trying to clear her thoughts and curb the urge to give in to the charms of the girl in front of her.

"This is crazy. You're drunk. No, no, no. You're drunk or pretending to be and this is one of your bad jokes. Santana or Azimio will come through the door with slushies in hand and-"

Quinn growled in frustration, grabbing Rachel by the collar of her sweater and pulling the girl into her, kissing her again. They fell back on the mattress, and Quinn wrapped her arms around Rachel's neck.

Rachel broke the kiss again, but she no longer has the strength to resist Quinn. The blonde seems to notice that the girl's willpower was dangling by a thread and she chose that moment to take one of the brunette's hands and puts it on her left breast.

"I want you to touch me Rachel."

Rachel surrendered, claiming Quinn's lips and deepening the kiss immediately.

The brunette slid her hand inside the bra, feeling the blonde's nipple get harder against her palm. Quinn moaned and Rachel unknowingly thrust her hips against her.

"Sweet Jesus, Rachel. I can feel you already."

Rachel also could feel her erection. She kept thrusting her hips against Quinn's as the blonde moaned and asked for more.

Rachel's hands slid down Quinn's body. Impatiently, she got on her knees and with a quick firm motion she grabbed the fabric of her underwear.

"Take this off."

Quinn lifted her hips and allowed Rachel literally rip her panties off. She felt Rachel's lips on her bare abdomen, warm, soft kisses on every inch of her body. Every minute that passed Quinn wanted more.

_'Lord what is happening to me? I've never felt like this before. I know what will happen if we continue but I don't want to stop it. Why? How can she make me want to do things that I'm not suppose to want? Finn never made me feel like this. Nobody has ever made me feel that way. Oh_ _Lord, why? Why does she make my skin feel like I'm on fire? Why does she make my body and my mind lose all reason? Why does heart beat faster when I think about her touching me? Why does my whole being ask me to give myself completely to her? Am I sinning? Oh, dear God, please forgive me. Forgive me for asking for those lips, for those hands, for that body. Forgive me for giving up my chastity by deciding to give her what I should have saved it until the day in Your presence, I could give it to the one that should be the my legitimate husband. Oh Lord, forgive me for wanting to give my virginity to her, and please forgive me for not regretting it.'_

"You're beautiful, Quinn."

The blonde opened her eyes slowly. Rachel watched the girl lying half naked under her with adoration, running her hands down her legs, touching the entire surface lightly.

Quinn's breath was getting heavier, making her chest rise and fall constantly. Those brown eyes seemed to want to devour her, and it made the heat between her legs increase further.

"I want to see you." Rachel touched her knees spreading the girl legs gently and only in that moment, the brunette could see how excited Quinn was.

"I did this." Rachel said passing her thumb over Quinn's crotch, feeling the moisture.

Quinn threw her head back and grabbed the sheets. Rachel watched the other girl moaning in pleasure and this aroused her even more. She a primitive feeling awaking inside of her. She wanted Quinn to moan more, ask for more. She wanted to satisfy this craving and make the girl who was now was squirming because of her touch, reach ecstasy, screaming her name.

But Quinn was drunk and even though she caused Rachel do what she was doing, no one could guarantee that the blonde really wanted to do it, and Rachel didn't want to do it that way.

Long time ago she had accepted that her sexual instincts, which were extremely sharp due to her different hormonal condition, giving her virginity to someone would be nothing like the experiences of a 'normal' girl.

After her _'conversation'_ with Quinn in the auditorium, Rachel was sure she was going to explode or worse! She could not control herself, the mere memory of Quinn's body pressed next to her made her cock get hard almost immediately. Quinn walking down the halls in that Cheerios uniform seemed to be the best aphrodisiac ever invented.

During those two weeks, Rachel almost lost it. All she could think was which places in school she could take Quinn, spread the blonde's legs and stick her mouth there until she couldn't take it anymore, without getting in trouble.

_'Fuck. This is not helping,'_ Rachel thought, _'Try to control yourself, Rachel.'_

Rachel thumb pressed further on Quinn's core.

"I can't go on with... it. I'm not sure that this is what you want and without knowing for sure, I can't go on. "

"You can't stop now."

"Yes. I can," the brunette said with difficulty, "I need to stop, because it's wrong."

Quinn sat up like a shot and grabbed Rachel by the collar of her sweater. The brunette was face to face with the girl who tormented her life from the first moment they met, the same girl that she always thought was the prettiest girl she had ever seen, the girl who appeared in all her fantasies and for a few moments let Rachel touched her.

Her brown eyes stared into those hazel eyes that were completely blackened.

"No. It's not, "Quinn said.

"You're drunk," Rachel disputed.

"I'm not drunk. I just needed a little courage." Quinn folded her legs around Rachel's waist.

"Damn. Quinn, I'm a virgin."

Quinn ran a hand through her abdomen. "Me too..."

Rachel stared at her. "And you want me to? No Quinn. I-... This is-... You're not thinking straight."

"No Rachel, it's you that isn't thinking straight."

She grabbed the brunette's hand and with a quick gesture, she put it inside her.

"Can you feel it? I want you."

Rachel felt Quinn's warmth and wetness on her fingers. Wasting no time, Quinn slipped her hand under Rachel's skirt, feeling her growing cock. Quinn groaned and closed her eyes, her hand touching the girl's bulge through the fabric.

"You can feel it, Rachel? You want to take me and make me yours..."

The next thing she knew was that she was lying in the bed with Rachel on top of her. The blonde stared at the other girl's hungry and nearly wild eyes.

After that Rachel wasted no time. Suddenly Quinn was without her bra and the brunette's lips were on her nipples Rachel kissed her whole body. The blonde felt ravenous kisses with occasional delicate bites, each made with Quinn's body arched in pleasure.

"I want to taste you," the brunette said as she dropped to her knees and slipped her tongue inside of Quinn.

"Oh. My. God!" Quinn moaned unable to formulate coherent sentences anymore. Her mind went blank.

_'Where did Rachel learn to do this?'_ And when it seemed that nothing could excite her even more, she heard Rachel's hoarse voice whisper in her ear.

"Fuck Quinn, I need get inside you."

"Oh Yes. I want you. I want you inside me. Please, Rachel. "

" _God_. Don't worry, I'll be gentle. I-I want to please you. Fuck Quinn... You're so wet. Are you feeling me already? "

"Y-Yes. Oh God. More. Rachel. Get inside me, _b-baby, please_. "

"Fuck Quinn. This is going to hurt just a little bit. Tell me if you want me to stop."

That's it. She had given her virginity to Rachel Berry.

Quinn felt a slight burning sensation and then she felt stretched while her nine inches of hard dick penetrated Quinn, making her body stiffen for a moment.

"Oh f-fuck. Rach, I feel so full."

"Are you okay?" Rachel asked worriedly.

"Yes, but give me a minute, baby." Quinn said though the pain and Rachel stayed still until Quinn nodded her head, telling her it was okay to move again.

Rachel thrust her hips upward and slowly increased her pace, allowing Quinn get used to it. But when Quinn felt Rachel reach a certain spot inside her, she asked for more, and that made the pace change.

The more the blonde asked, more Rachel gave her as her pace increased. Suddenly both girls were moving wildly, their bodies completely out of control. Rachel could feel that Quinn was very close and this pushed Rachel to the edge.

"Shit. You're so tight, so good. Quinn baby I'm-" Rachel could not hold back anymore and gasped as she filled Quinn up with her cum. When the blonde felt the girl coming inside her, it was all it took for her to go over the edge and achieve the most powerful, mind blowing orgasm she could ever imagined.

"Oh God. Rach... you feel so good. _Oh baby,_ I'm coming."

Quinn was floating on cloud 9. She was in heaven surrounded by stars, and she didn't care how cliché that sounded. There were no words in the English language to describe how she was feeling at that moment.

Her golden star. Her Rachel had held her close when she returned from heaven and somehow that made everything even more perfect. But despite knowing that a part of her wished that this moment would never end, Quinn knew that unfortunately this would be their only night of freedom, the only time she would be allowed to do what she wanted to do. The only chance she will have to be herself.

After a few hours she would put the mask of the perfect daughter of a perfect Christian family back on. Relapses would not be tolerated anymore, and although at that moment she was seeking shelter near the warm and soft body from the single person that truly had caught her, she would accept all arrangements to insure that those arms never would want to hug her again.

With that she would be safe once more.

She would control her instincts better, tonight would be a good dream and soon it will be lost in her memories.

She'll forget everything. She'll forget about Rachel and God would forgive her for slip up, right?

This was only going to be a one time thing.

_Or so she thought_.


	3. Chapter 02 - Dear Old Shiz

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N:
> 
> 1 - If you wanna know more about me or about the fics I write, you can find me on tumblr: http://danaandme.tumblr.com/ or twitter: @danaandme 
> 
> 2- I'd like to introduce you to my beta for this story: rakestrawberry.  
> She literally saved me and without a doubt she is my soul mate writer. I really can not tell you how happy I'm to finally find her. She is such a sweetheart, very talent and real smart :) you guys can check out her tumblr and her stories in FF  
> http://sydney-rakestraw.tumblr.com/

**_Sweetly Wicked_ **

**_Chapter 02 - Dear Old Shiz_ **

"Make no mistake, wimps, I will have Q throw up on the head of the next softie who dares to leave this training! So you think it's hard to keep a choreography with someone's puke all over you? Try to imagine getting the vomit out of your hair with a cotton swab! Now that's hard!"

Half an hour later, the Cheerios walked off the field and back to the locker rooms, holding their arms out and grimacing at the orange chunks of vomit that were staining their uniforms.

"Go hit the shower, losers. You disgust me. And Quinn? You better be okay by Monday morning, or I'll give you a good reason to ralph. Now go hit the showers."

"Yes, coach," Quinn replied miserably.

...

Santana came out of the shower wrapped in a towel. She had her hair washed and rinsed eight times over, and even then, she was sure it was clean; she could swear she still could smell the acidic vomit on it.

Three other Cheerios covered with puke passed through her straight to the shower, and Santana felt her stomach churn again.

"Oh, ew, gross!" Santana muttered, walking to the lockers, carrying with her fingertips the completely ruined Cheerio's uniform.

She was so disgusted that she could hardly concentrate on discharging all her fury on to the person who had been responsible for all the deplorable state of the most of Cheerios. Quinn was sitting wrapped in a towel on the bench in front of the lockers, her shoulders square and her jaw set, tense.

Several girls passed her, casting furtive glances and turning up their noses, but none of them dared to confront the head cheerleader, who, during training, inexplicably projectile vomited on top of the human pyramid.

"Damn it, Q. I swear, if I was not so repulsed, I would have ripped your head off," Santana growled.

"Not now, Santana."

"What? So you totally did the Regan Macneil today and you still have the balls to-"

Quinn shot up and ran to one of the locker room stalls. She stuck her face in the toilet and began to vomit compulsively. Santana felt her own stomach churn and quickly covered her mouth with one hand.

"Damn it! Quinn, you could have at least close the damn doors."

She marched up to the booth with her hand over her mouth and closed the door, trying to keep the image of her Quinn losing her lunch out of her mind, which had already reached the highest level of filth that she could handle in one day.

Brittany nudged Santana. "Coach Sylvester sent you another uniform, San."

Brittany gives two taps to the stall door - the only thing that was preventing the world from witnessing the head Cheerio hugging the toilet in a depressing way.

"Q, I ordered one for you, too! Coach said that if you vomit on it, she'll rub it in your face!"

Brittany and Santana winced as they heard the noise of Quinn vomiting again and shortly afterwards, she left the stall looking pale-lipped and clammy. Santana turned away to retrieve her makeup bag from her locker and Brittany wasted no time in shoving the stained uniforms into a plastic bag.

"Quinn, you look horrible," Santana sneered as Quinn hobbled out of the bathroom.

Quinn grabbed the clean uniform that Brittany offered her and ran a hand through her hair.

"It's just a stomach infection. I can't keep anything down."

Santana shrugged. "I don't care. I just don't want to end up with vomit in my hair again. So take care of it!"

"Whatever," Quinn rolled her eyes.

"Don't worry Q, I don't think you're gross. I don't really think anything's gross after licking some of Lord Tubbington's vomit to see if stopped smoking marijuana."

Quinn blanched and ran back to the bathroom stall.

...

"I don't know if I can look at bacon ever again."

"I didn't ask you to send Brittany in to inspect what I was doing, Santana," Quinn replied angrily.

"I asked her to tell me if you were still alive. I didn't ask her to give me a full report of what you had eaten at breakfast. Damn, Quinn, do you really need to eat so much bacon? You're gonna turn into the pig you were always destined to become."

Quinn glared her. "Step off, Lopez."

Quinn stopped at her locker and Santana swore in Spanish, heading to first period. Out of the corner of her eyes, Quinn noticed that weird Asian girl a few lockers down, opening her black studded purse and taking out a red lollipop. Quinn closed her locker and marched over, snatching the candy out of the girl's hand.

"H-Hey!" the girl stuttered.

Quinn looked at her for a moment, and the girl's hands shook nervously.

"What's flavor?" she asked dryly.

The girl paused. "S-Straw-b-b-berry," she said.

"Perfect. I love strawberry."

"B-But it's m-m-mine," the girl tried to argue.

"Not anymore," shrugged Quinn, ripping the plastic off of the sucker and shoving it in her mouth.

Quinn giggled mischievously. Being mean was such a nice start to any day.

She was getting ready to go to her first period when she spotted Finn leaning against the wall talking animatedly with the only person on the face of the earth that he - and the whole world – should stay away from.

Within seconds, Quinn crossed the hallway and grabbed the quarterback's arm, getting between him and Rachel, deliberately turning her back to the shorter girl.

"Finn?"

"Quinn?! I-I didn't see you! "

Her look was so cold and unflinching that the poor guy couldn't say anything, and just gave her an awkward half hug.

"I'm going to class. We can talk later, Finn," said Rachel.

Quinn shivered at the sound of her voice. It was a little over a month since the cheerleader had begun avoiding the small brunette, ignoring the girl completely after their one night at Puck's. The blonde had left before Rachel woke up, after checking to see that the house was quiet and mostly empty and Puck was not anywhere in sight. She snuck out and went home, but she couldn't deny that that night had been one of the best in her life.

Leaving Rachel alone after what happened between them seemed wrong. The warmth of the girl's body seemed to be enough to make her feel safe and happy for as long as she lived. Throughout that first weekend, Quinn craved the feeling of Rachel's arms. But then Monday morning came and Quinn remembered who she really was. The perfect, pristine, prudish cheerleader. At the end of the day, she had to blink back tears at the sight of Rachel covered in slushie dye.

Every slushie thrown at Rachel on that day, the brunette heard _'Hey Freak, Quinn Fabray says hello.'_

Quinn took a deep breath and turned to face Rachel.

"Yeah, get lost, Ru-Paul. The last thing I need is to be in your vicinity."

Rachel stared back at her and for a moment it was possible to see the flash pain reflected in those brown eyes, but in seconds her eyes became cold.

The brunette stepped forward.

"You're worthless, Quinn Fabray, and I'm loathed to remember all the times that I shared with you."

Quinn clenched her hands into a fist and felt a shiver run through her body. Her stomach churned again and she felt tears threaten to sting her eyes.

"Do you think I care? You're nothing, Berry. Nothing. And it's me that can barely stand the idea of spending one more second around you. "

Quinn turned on her heels and darted down the hallway, rushing into the ladie _s'_ room, on the verge of sobs _._

_'Now you got it, Fabray. You got what you wanted so badly... She hates you... She's repulsed by you...'_

The tears flowed freely down her face as Quinn held herself on the bench in front of the bathroom mirrors.

_'Why? Why are you crying you idiot? Is this not that what you wanted? Now she won't even want to look at your face anymore. You'll be far away from each other, and she'll probably forget that night in the same way you're trying to forget. Then, you'll get your way with Finn or with another idiot like him, and she will find someone else, somebody who is worthy and that someone will hug her, kiss her, and make love to her, and hold her hand in public.'_

She put a hand to her stomach, feeling sick.

"I hate you, Quinn Fabray. I hate you I hate you I hate you!" she said, staring at her reflection in the mirror, hot tears running down her face, "You're a coward! A fucking coward!"

...

Rachel watched Quinn walk away and tried to understand what had happened and why Quinn had to be so cruel. Those were the first words they exchanged between them since that night at Noah's house. The only thing she'd gotten from the cheerleader since then were dirty looks, and slushie facials from Quinn's jock friends.

Rachel frowned unhappily. Why do things with Quinn always have to be so difficult?

The first time they saw each other Rachel thought the blonde was the sweet girl on earth. She remembered the way a younger Quinn would look at her shyly, flushed when she'd been caught staring.

**Eight Years Ago**

"I-I like your eraser," said the small blonde, nodding to Rachel's strawberry-shaped eraser. Rachel smiled for the first time that morning.

"My dad bought me fruit-shaped ones," Rachel smiled, and held out her eraser for Quinn, "It smells like strawberries. You can keep it, if you want."

Quinn smiled brightly, surprised and took the rubber, holding it tightly.

"Thank you."

**Present Day**

Rachel bit her lip at the memory of she and Quinn in the second grade. She wished things could always have been that way. She still didn't knew why but in next day Quinn didn't speak to her and when she questioned her, the girl cried in front of the whole class screaming _'Leave me alone you freak.'_

After that their relationship was summed up to verbal taunts and daily slushie facials. Until that day in the auditorium. That day changed everything. And so did that night.

For a moment, Rachel seemed to understand. All the bullying now made sense. Repressed feelings tend to cause aggression, right? But then the next morning came along and Rachel was alone. That Monday, the first slushie of the day came with a clear message. _'Hey, Freak, Quinn Fabray says hello.'_ Back to normal.

Rachel couldn't stop thinking about Quinn, wondering if this was all a big joke. But it wasn't, especially because nobody else knew what had happened between them. But why would Quinn surrender to her feelings one night only to return to her old self by Monday?

She was drunk...

Well, at first, maybe...

_'I want you.'_

Rachel's face warmed at the thought. She balled her fists, frustrated by the fact that she could never figure out Quinn Fabray.

_'Do you think I care? You're nothing, Berry. Nothing. And it's me that can barely stand the idea of spending one more second around you. '_

Rachel knew the ferocity that could appear behind that angelic face, but when she said that, her eyes and voice had faltered. For a second, she looked fragile. Vulnerable. The brunette tapped her foot on the ground.

"She was really angry," said Finn.

"Angry?"

"Yeah. She's been pretty stressed lately. I think she's still mad at me, because I didn't go to Puck's party with her."

"What?" Rachel raised an eyebrow, feeling a pang of jealousy. Quinn wanted to go the party with Finn?

"Yeah. And the other day I could have sworn she wanted to rip my head off just because I called her Baby in public."

Rachel remembered the way Quinn called her Baby that night, and grimaced.

"I have to go," she said quickly and whipped around, storming down the hallway.

"Not that she likes when I call her baby, anyway..." Finn muttered, confused by Rachel's abrupt deperature. "What's wrong with her?" he asked himself, watching Rachel storm down the hall.

"Is she jealous?"

Finn felt his heart skip a beat and couldn't help a satisfied smirk adorning his face. Wow. Rachel was jealous! Of him? Or... does this mean...? Finn felt his face heat up and his widened. He turned and went the opposite way, confused.

...

Rachel couldn't control herself. She was searching for Quinn like a predator hunting its prey and pushed open the door to the ladies' room to find Quinn sitting on the bench.

"We need to talk! And I don't care what you think, because we need to have this conversation-"

Quinn looked up with a grimace and Rachel's voice caught in her throat as she noticed the girl's tear streaked face and mussed haired.

"Rachel..." The girl's face was deathly pale and her eyes were sunken. She tried to stand but stumbled over her feet and fainted.

Rachel lunged forward and caught Quinn by the shoulders before the cheerleader could smack against the cold tiled floor. Rachel's knees buckled under Quinn's dead weight and both girls fell to the floor, with Rachel cushoning Quinn's head. Rachel rolled over onto her hands and knees and hovered over the blonde.

"Oh, God, Quinn? Please wake up," Rachel said desperately, gently stoking Quinn's face, "You're so cold. Oh God. HELP! SOMEBODY HELP! PLEASE!"

Tina Cohen-Chang, who'd heard Rachel's screams from the hall, ran into the bathroom and gasped.

"Oh my G-God, you killed her!"

Rachel's eyes widened in shock.

"What?! TINA FOR GOD'S SAKE! HOW CAN YOU SAY SOMETHING LIKE THAT? CALL SOMEONE WHO CAN TAKE HER TO THE NURSE'S OFFICE HURRY!" Rachel yelled at her.

Tina darted out of the bathroom and not a second later, Kurt Hummel and Mercedes Jones, glee club's other two biggest divas and the biggest gossips in school, flourished into the bathroom to see Rachel over an unconscious Quinn.

The both screamed in unison:

"What are you doing?!" "You killed her!"

Rachel sighed and rolled her eyes as Tina rushed back in, dragging Noah in by his shirt.

"H-He was the first person I f-found," she explained.

Puck's eyes widened at Rachel and Quinn.

"What did you do?! Did you kill-"

"I didn't kill her! What's wrong with you people? Please, help me get her to a nurse!"

Puck bent down and quickly picked Quinn up with the ease of his muscular arms and carried her to the nurse's office with Rachel, Tina, Kurt and Mercedes trailing closely behind.

...

Mrs. White, the school nurse, sprung up from her chair when the group of teenagers rushed into the infirmary together, all of them speaking urgently at the same time. She held up a hand to quiet them as Puck set an unconscious Quinn down on one of the gurneys. Amidst the teenagers' shouting, Mrs. White checked Quinn's vitals and despite her low blood pressure, she didn't seem any injury. Her patience fizzling, she shouted, " _Quiet!"_

The teenagers went silent.

"Who can tell me what happened to this girl?"

Rachel raised a timid hand.

"Okay. Everybody else out," ordered Mrs. White.

As the others shuffled out, Rachel could see Kurt and Mercedes' eyes that a new rumor would be circulating McKinley very soon. She took a seat near Quinn's gurney as the pallid blonde's eyes began to flutter open. Rachel put her hand on her's and Quinn weakly wove their fingers together as Mrs. White took Quinn's temperature.

"There's no fever. I think it was a drop in blood pressure. Probably because all the ridiculous training these cheerleaders go through. What happened?"

"She just fainted, in the bathroom."

The nurse nodded. "She should be better soon. I'll get her some water.

The nurse left them alone, and although the color was returning to Quinn's face, Rachel wasn't satisfied with the nurse's diagnosis.

"You scared me so much," Rachel mumbled as Quinn seem to drift in and out of lucidity. How did all of Rachel's hurt and jealousy fade so fast? A few minutes ago she wanted to kick Quinn's ass for ignoring her, but now... Now, all she cared about was that Quinn was okay.

"Rachel..." Quinn slowly opened her eyes, unaware of what happened. All she remembered was looking at _her_ Rachel as everything went dark.

_'Wait,_ your _Rachel? She is not your Rachel, Fabray. Get a hold of yourself. But then why did I call her name as soon as I regained consciousness? And why is she holding my hands and making goo-goo eyes at me..."_

"R-Rachel?" Quinn hesitated.

She tried to sit up but her head started to spin and she regretted make such a sudden movement. Rachel held her down before she managed to roll off the gurney. Quinn relaxed against Rachel's arms and a wave of relief ran through her body. She felt so safe in those arms.

_'What the Hell are you doing, Fabray?'_ she thought to herself and immediately tensed up.

"Good to see you awake, Ms. Fabray," said Mrs. White as she walked in with a glass of water. Quinn was thankful for her timing.

Rachel pulled back to let Mrs. White hand Quinn the water.

"You should get an appointment with your family doctor, Ms. Fabray. This is the fourth time in two weeks."

Rachel's eyes widened in shock. It was enough to make Quinn want to slap the nurse.

"It's just a bug going around," said Quinn.

The nurse looked doubtful. "I recommend you go home for the day and rest."

"That's no necessary."

"I can't allow you to-"

"I'll take her," Rachel offered.

Mrs. White wore a victorious smile and left to tell Principal Figgins. Quinn felt her stomach churn, and it had nothing to do with her illness.

...

"It's the third house on the left. The white one."

The only words they had exchanged on the way to the Fabray residence were simple directions. Quinn avoided even looking at Rachel, which irritated Rachel to no end.

_'First she hates me. Then she gets drunk and seduces me after absolutely_ nowhere _. And how am I supposed to resist her? She is Quinn freaking Fabray and she knows it. She knows exactly what she's doing, doesn't she? So what game is she playing? Why would she spend that one amazing night with me and just disappear in the morning like a ghost? Come Monday morning, she's back to hating me and I have a slushie massacre to deal with. And she avoids me for a month - a whole month of me wondering what's wrong with her and just waiting for her to apologize. She's in my thoughts every waking moment and I dream about her every night. I fantasize about the day she tells me she was just scared of all of these intense feelings but she's ready to be with me again... Well, that was a bust. Now she's giving me the silent treatment. And for what? What did I do? I was there for her when she fainted!... And she called my name. She said it to the nurse, too, I'm sure of it. She cares about me, she's just afraid to admit it! She called_ my _name! Not Finn! Me! When is she going to realize that I care about her too?! Why is she so afraid to love me, to talk to me, to LOOK AT ME!'_

"Look at me, damn it!" Rachel's frustrated thoughts escaped her mouth. _Oops_.

Quinn's eyes widened at her and Rachel decided to keep going.

"You are the most annoying human being on the face of the earth, you know that? I just can't understand you, Quinn Fabray! It's been forty-five days! Forty-five days, eleven hours and twelve minutes. Doesn't that mean anything to you? You act like nothing ever happened between us and I demand an explanation!"

"Berry, stop."

"No! I will not let you keep playing with me, Quinn! We need to solve-"

"Rachel, don't. Please, just stop."

Rachel pursed her lips, stopping at the sound of her name in Quinn's voice. She saw the rare moment of fragility in the other girl's eyes. She felt like her heart had been ripped out of her chest. All of her anger and frustration disappeared, and Quinn notices as Rachel's chocolate brown eyes warm.

She stopped the car at the curb of the Fabray mansion and neither girl spoke, the tension palpable. Rachel watched her carefully and bit her lip, and Quinn wondered if she would start rambling again. Rachel took a breath and Quinn lunged forward, silencing her with a kiss.

It was like their night together had never ended as Rachel pulled Quinn into her and Quinn eagerly slid into the brunette's lap. Rachel slid her hands over her legs, possessively squeezing her thighs. Quinn laced her fingers through the tresses of brown hair, pulling Rachel even closer and deepening the kiss. They were putting all of their unsaid words, repressed feeling and every glance they couldn't share, into that kiss. Neither one wanted to separate.

Nevertheless, they needed to and eventually Quinn pulled away and slid off of Rachel's lap. Tears threatened to spill out of her eyes.

"Please, stay away from me."

She darted out of the car before Rachel could react. Her body still tingled after the feeling of Quinn's lips and body. Her heart sunk at the sight of tears welling up in the cheerleader's eyes. She watched her run into her house without looking back and sat there, unable to move for minutes before starting the car and driving back to school. At one of the top floor windows, Quinn hid behind a lace curtain, watching Rachel's car drive away, wiping tears off of her pink cheeks.

"What's happening to me?" she asked herself in a whisper.

_'It's like the stress of staying away from Rachel is making me ill. I can barely keep anything down. I'm always exhausted. Even my breasts ache...'_ Quinn paused. _'Forty-five days. Forty-five days, eleven hours and twelve minutes.'_

Instantly, the girl ran to the desk in her bedroom and pulled out the second drawer. Impatient, she dumped all of it's contents on the floor. She threw old photographs and pencil toppers out of her way until she found a little red notebook. She flipped through the page and stared at the last date she had written in black ink.

"Oh my God."

She threw the notebook on the floor and ran into her older sister's bedroom. She raided Francine's 'secret drawer' - the one that contained her cigarette packets, her flasks of whiskey and if she was lucky, that little white package that Francine had bought but never got the chance to use, when her late period had finally come.

"Please be here, please be here," Quinn chanted to herself.

She saw the small package and thanked the heavens. She grabbed it, tore the box open and pulled the small page of instructions out to read. It just took five minutes. Cursing at herself under her breath, she peed on a stick and set a timer on her watch. Five minutes felt like an eternity. _'Dr. Shiz, the most accurate pregnancy test the market,'_ was written in large letters on the side of the little box thrown on the bathroom floor. Five minutes later, the earth stopped moving.

Twenty minutes after that, Quinn was still sitting on the bathroom tiles, staring at the strip that showed two blue lines. It was positive. She was pregnant. She stood slowly, her legs threatening to give way under her, and flushed everything she had used down the toilet. She wandered aimlessly into the kitchen, her head a cloud.

"Quinnie?"

Quinn jumped at the sound of her mother's voice, and turned to face her.

"Quinnie, you look so pale! Principal Figgins called and told me you were coming home early. Thank God you had a friend to take you home."

Quinn just nodded yes, looking dazed.

"Well, tell your friend I appreciate it," said Judy Fabray, walking up to her daughter and putting a hand on her daughter's shoulder, "I know what'll make you feel better."

Judy walked to the fridge and opened it, taking a glass tray out.

"I made it for after dinner! Your favorite. Strawberry mousse with real strawberry pieces."

Quinn wrinkled her brow, unable to concentrate on what her mother was saying.

"What? Berry?"

"Yes, Quinnie. Strawberry. You love strawberry! It's tied with bacon on your favorites since you were a little girl."

"I love straw-berry..."

Quinn's heart began to pound in her chest. She felt a chill through her whole body and a cold sweat trickled down her forehead.

"You know, I craved berries when I was pregnant with you," Judy said nostalgically.

Quinn took a seat on the nearest stool at the island counter. She put her hand on her stomach and her mother walked around the kitchen without noticing the color drain from her daughter's face. Quinn felt like it was a sign. A sign from God? Maybe. A sign that was okay been in love with Rachel Berry. Wait? What? Oh my God. It can't be true. Her head began to spin.

_'Rachel's lips. Rachel's legs. Rachel's body. Rachel's voice. Rachel's eyes. Oh God, Rachel's member pulsing and penetrating me. The way our bodies fit, the way she took care of me, the desire, the pleasure, the insatiable moments, the longing I felt to be with her repeatedly. The whole mess of feelings. The way she makes me feel. The happiness I felt when...'_

She heard her father scream, "Abomination!" in her head.

_'No. I'm not an abomination. I can't be. I'm normal. I can't love her. I can't love Rachel Berry.'_

_'You got pregnant with a freak, Quinn. You are a disgrace to our family,'_ her father voice keep screaming in her mind.

Quinn began to hyperventilate and suddenly everything seemed to get slower and heavier. She saw her mother moving toward her, but Quinn couldn't hear what she was saying. As everything faded to black, Quinn could think of only two things. She was in love with Rachel Berry and she was pregnant with her baby.


	4. Chapter 03 - The Wizard and I

**_Sweetly Wicked_ **

**_Chapter 03 - The Wizard and I_ **

"Quinn?"

Rachel couldn't believe her eyes. Quinn Fabray was standing in her front doorway on a Friday evening, soaking wet from the rain. Apparently, the head Cheerio thought that she hadn't endured enough psychological torture for one day. Thus, she had to pop up at Rachel's house, practically in the middle of a storm, carrying an expression of sorrow, weakness and unbelievable sexiness to torture her even more.

After that morning, Rachel had returned to school and struggled to focus on her remaining classes. It proved to be a futile effort. At the end of the day, she was so engrossed in Quinn Fabray and her random bouts of homosexuality that she stumbled past Jacob Ben Israel and received a huge slushie bath as she passed the football team's locker room. It could have been avoided if she was watching where she was going.

Rachel, perplexed, was still standing at the girl in front of her. She blinked, feeling surreal. She considered that her obsession with Quinn was at levels so dangerous that she was starting to hallucinate. It was more plausible that the girl in front of her was the result of a hysterical breakdown than the real Quinn Fabray, who decided to come to her house amidst this rain, while Rachel's fathers were in Columbus for a retreat with a society of LGBT parents of Ohio. _Stressful situations lead to psychological breakdowns, right?_ _Oh God, Quinn Fabray finally kicked all of my sanity to the curb. It's all over. Say goodbye to Broadway, Rachel. The only future you have is a padded cell and a straightjacket._

Quinn shivered and sniffed in the cold, and Rachel snapped back to reality.

"Quinn, what happened? Are you hurt?" she asked, grabbing the girl by the sleeve of her coat and pulling her into the warmth of the house.

Quinn trembled, her lips and fingers a light blue color. Rachel wondered how long she'd been standing in the rain as she closed the front door behind them. She helped Quinn out of her soaking coat and grabbed a thick wool blanket from the linen cabinet.

"Here, you need to warm up."

Quinn took the blanket without a word and wrapped it around herself and her damp cheerleading uniform. Rachel frowned uneasily at her.

"Come on, I have an electric blanket in my room," she said, leading the blonde upstairs. Quinn didn't protest.

Rachel took an electric blanket out of her bedroom closet and Quinn looked around at the pinks and yellows of the girl's room. She let the blanket heat over Quinn's shoulders and handed her a towel from her en suite bathroom with a monogrammed 'B' on the corner. Wordlessly, the blonde watched Rachel with a faraway look.

"You need to take your clothes off," said Rachel.

Quinn widened her eyes at her, suddenly alert.

"W-What?"

Her voice was sharp and she looked frightened, if not angry, like she was finally realizing where she was and didn't like it. She scoured the room until she saw the damp puddle around her feet. She shivered and hugged her body to warm up. She couldn't remember how she'd gotten there. She remembered waking up on the couch at home, her mother calling the family doctor. She'd leapt off of the couch, said she was okay and that she was going to sleep over at Santana's.

Her mother tried to warn her about the rain but she'd grabbed her jacket on the way out and mumbled something about Cheerios practise. She just wanted to leave before the doctor arrived. Everything after that was a blur. She had just wanted to be somewhere safe. The next thing she knew, she'd parked her car in front of Rachel Berry's house, got out of the car and stood in the rain, staring at the door.

The same blue door she, Santana and the other Cheerios had chucked eggs at two years ago on Halloween. She didn't remember ringing the bell, but now she was in Rachel's bedroom, soaked and shivering. What was she supposed to say? Her secret was burning on her brain. She was pregnant with Rachel's child. How could she say that?

Quinn staggered and leaned against a wall, and Rachel huffed with frustration.

"Now is not the time for modesty, Quinn. You need to get warm."

The cheerleader didn't argue. Rachel managed to work her wet uniform off, leaving her in only her underwear. The brunette quickly wrapped the electric blanket over the blonde and led her to sit on the bed.

Quinn was too cold and tired to think straight, but Rachel had wrapped her arms around her, so she laid down and curled up next to the girl, seeking the warmth of her body, and the sweet smell of almonds hit her nose. Quinn wanted to cry, scream and kick out of fear and frustration, but she couldn't. Underneath the covers, she put one hand to her stomach.

A lump formed in her throat and she fought back tears.

Rachel would never know.

Never.

She nestled her face into Rachel's neck and let the fatigue win. Rachel's hand roamed over the blanket covers, trying to warm the blonde, and Quinn let herself relax and surrender to sleep.

"Then have my lips the sin that they have took," she mumbled, exhausted.

Rachel opened her eyes. ' _Sin...?'_ She smiled sadly and closed her eyes, squeezing Quinn's body closer.

"Sin from thy lips? O trespass sweetly urged... Give me my sin again." Rachel gently kissed the sleeping girl's lips. "My only love sprung from my only hate. Too early seen unknown, and known too late. Prodigious birth of love it is to me, that I must have a loathed enemy. Is that how you feel, my Juliet?"

**Three Months Ago**

"Tell me more about this girl Quinn."

Rachel almost fell off of her chair. She looked up at her therapist with a frown.

"What does Quinn Fabray have to do with anything, Dr. Palmer?"

Dr. Palmer leaned in and raised one of her eyebrows.

"I asked you not to do that," Rachel grumbled.

"Why does it bother you when I raised my eyebrows, Rachel?"

"You know why!"

The doctor smiled. "Are we talking about Quinn Fabray, then?"

Rachel folded her arms and sat back in her chair. "It's amazing how persistent you are on having this discussion even though you know how much it displeases me."

Dr. Palmer set her clipboard of notes down on the table and slid her pen into her coat pocket, crossing her arms and staring skeptically at her patient.

"Rachel, one of the reasons you're here to talk about situations that make you upset or uncomfortable. I know this phase of your life is going to be especially difficult for you. Your body is changing and you're going to have certain desires-"

"Quinn Fabray has nothing to do with that! She is my worst nightmare!"

"Why are you so upset?" the doctor asked softly.

"Because I hate her! I hate her! She torments me every day just for being born! She looks so sweet and naive, but she's a vindictive harpie. I hate her annoying smile and her stupid cheerleading uniform. And most of all I hate how she raises her damn eyebrow every time she looks at me!"

Dr. Palmer maintained her calm as Rachel rambled on, in a rage.

"Do you hate Quinn Fabray?"

Rachel rose from her chair and paced back and forth. Was her therapist deaf? Suddenly she remembered how Quinn had took her eraser all those years ago. She saw her sweet, childish voice, her sparkling hazel green eyes. Rachel turned her head to avoid Dr. Palmer's stare, but her therapist knew her well.

"Rachel," she prompted, "Do you hate Quinn Fabray?"

Never. Not even a little bit. Not at all.

Rachel sighed, defeated. _But my five wits nor my five senses dissuade one foolish heart from serving thee_. She took a deep breath and faced Dr. Palmer.

"This is so unfair."

"I know. But it becomes easier when we're honest with ourselves."

Rachel rolled her eyes. "You'll never get me to admit out loud," she said, a mocking smile on her face.

"I wouldn't count on it. I'll see you next week, Rachel," said Dr. Palmer, arching her eyebrow.

"I already said I don't like it when you do that!"

The doctor pretending not to hear her. "Dr. Wilson will have the results of your fertility test ready in time for our next session."

The playful expression disappeared from Rachel's face.

"I would prefer if we could drop that matter. I don't want to know-"

"Rachel, these tests could prove if there's a chance-"

"Dr. Palmer..." Rachel couldn't help but tear up, "The chances that I could get a girl pregnant are one in a million, because no girl is going to... I've accepted it."

"Rachel-"

"I don't want to talk about it, Dr. Palmer. I'll see you next week."

**Present Day**

Quinn opened her eyes, only needing a few second to realize that she was nestled into Rachel, who was soundly asleep on the bed next to her.

"Oh, God..."

She'd done it again. Quinn had promised that the night at Puck's wouldn't repeat itself, but she'd been so vulnerable and had found the only company who was able to alleviate her fear and confusion. At least this time she had the decency to keep her panties on.

She took a breath and Rachel's scent crept into her nose. She needed a cold shower. She felt so hot, she thought she was ready to spontaneously combust, and not because of the electric blanket curled around her. The proximity between her and Rachel was not helping her to think straight, especially after last night's dream of kitchen counter sex.

She tried to wriggle out of Rachel's reach, but the girl was just as stubborn in sleep as she was when she was awake. When she moved a little, Rachel pulled her in even closer, and Quinn could feel her stiffening groin against her leg. Quinn held her breath. _This isn't happening_. Rachel stirred and pressed against her, and Quinn had no doubt.

"Fuck."

Rachel moaned softly. "Quinn..."

Quinn bit her bottom lip, trying not to smirk. It still delighted her that she was enough to make Rachel hard. Her inhibitions floated away and she leaned back into the brunette, sliding her hand under the covers and into the waistband of Rachel's cotton pyjama shorts. Quinn shivered as she felt Rachel's cock throb and stiffen at the touch of her fingers.

Rachel groaned in her sleep and Quinn felt a liberating sense of control. Rachel's eyes snapped open and two dark irises were watching her like an animal. Quinn squealed as Rachel sat up and pushed the blonde onto her back. She held Quinn's hands tightly above her head and kneeled in between her legs, pressing into her.

"Why did you do that?" she asked, her voice hoarse. She looked demanding, almost dangerous, and so turned on. Quinn felt helpless.

_Why? I don't know. But being held down is making me horny..._

She rolled her hips involuntarily, feeling Rachel's stiffness press against her. A moan of pleasure escaped her lips.

"Are you playing with me, Quinn?"

Rachel arched her body away, hearing Quinn whine about the lack of contact. Her hips rolled again, desperate. Rachel felt playful, but didn't show it on her stern face. She leaned over Quinn, her lips against the pale skin of her ear.

"Did you come to my house to torture me? To use me? Oh, no, Quinn. This time I'll have my way with you and I'm going to enjoy it much more. Can you feel it?"

Rachel pushed herself against Quinn and made the blonde moan.

"Beg for me."

Like a kitten, she purred Rachel's name between every breath. Satisfied, Rachel gave her what she begged for. Just like that, they surrendered to one more night of pleasure, and just like the first night, Rachel woke up alone.

xxx

Rachel wandered the hallways of McKinley all Monday morning, determined to find Quinn. By the time classes ended, she stormed off to the choir room, frustrated. She wondered if Quinn was absent from school that day.

Rachel huffed angrily. Quinn's cowardice was getting on her nerves. The whole situation was out of control and Rachel had been so angry that Sunday she almost asked her father to accompany her to the Saint Rose Catholic Church – the church that Quinn's Family attended – just to get a chance to face Quinn. She wanted to make it clear that she wouldn't be anyone's private play toy.

She shoved her books into her locker and took out her cellphone. No messages. Finn had sent her some texts that weekend saying that he needed to talk to her urgently, but Rachel lacked the patience to talk to him. She'd replied late on Sunday agreeing to meet with him at lunch on Monday and he claimed he couldn't wait, leaving Rachel confused when he didn't arrive in the cafeteria. She looked for him, but he seemed to have disappeared off of the face of the earth. Whatever he had to say must not have been that important and in any case, she was more concerned about finding Quinn.

Rachel shrugged and put on a smile before entering the choir room. When she walked in, the sight of a young couple sitting together in the tiered seats made her freeze. Quinn nuzzled closer to Finn and muttered something into his ear that made him remove his coat and drape it over her shoulders.

"Gross," said Santana, the sight of her in the choir room making Rachel's eyes widened. Not only was she there, but Brittany S. Pierce, and Noah Puckerman?!

"Are you just gonna stand there like an idiot, dwarf?" barked Santana.

Rachel stared at Quinn, who was clinging to Finn like he was a lifeboat. She seemed oblivious to Rachel's presence. Rachel squeezed her eyes tightly and opened them again as if she was seeing things.

"What are you doing here?" she asked, her voice sharp, sounding more upset than she intended to.

Santana crossed her arms. "It's the choir room, Berry. What the Hell do you think we're doing here?"

Rachel refused to believe it. It didn't make sense. Brittany nudged Santana.

"She looks like my grandma with that argyle sweater. It's sexy, and confusing," she mumbled. Santana stared, open-mouthed, at the blue-eyed blonde.

Across the room, Kurt stared at Finn like the boy had just spit in the pages of Vogue magazine and Mercedes stared at her cellphone, bored. Artie was casting furtive glances at Quinn, while Tina was trying to hide a lollipop in her purse. Puck leaned back in his chair at the back of the room, disdainful. Rachel swallowed hard and searched for the seat farthest away from Quinn and Finn. Her heartbeat was wild and she felt like a huge knot in her throat was about to explode.

When Mr. Schuester arrived and introduced the new members of New Directions, Rachel felt like the floor had been pulled out from under her. Out of the corner of her eye, she watched Quinn give Finn a peck on the cheek. Rachel's stomach turned. Beside her, Puck scoffed and rolled his eyes. Rachel wanted to run as fast as her legs would allow. Quinn had succeeded in making her feel like shit, and Finn had happily participated in the joke.

Her eyes started to burn and she had to control the urge to burst out in tears. This was the lowest and the cruellest that Quinn has ever been. There wasn't a shred of humanity in her icy heart. She'd finally pushed the dagger into her chest. The most vile betrayal. The cruellest disappointment. Every cuddle she shared with Finn felt like a punch in the heart.

She watched Finn gently touch Quinn's thigh as he leaned in to whisper something in her ear.

"Rachel?" Mr. Schuester's voice was soft and full of concern, "Are you feeling well? You look pale."

Rachel looked around and noticed several eyes staring at her. Even Quinn's.

"I-I'm fine, Mr. Schuester."

The teacher didn't look convinced. Rachel glanced at Quinn to see the blonde biting her lips, but she looked away quickly. _How dare she pretend to care_ , thought Rachel.

"I need to go," she said, standing up, all eyes on her, "Excuse me."

She ran out of the choir room, her head ducked.

"What's wrong with her?" Kurt asked aloud.

"Who cares? I can finally breathe now that the room doesn't reek of coal mines," said Santana.

"I thought dwarves worked in diamond mines," said Brittany.

Mercedes raised an eyebrow at Brittany, irritated. "What the Hell is she talking about?"

"Mind your own damn business, Weezy," Santana frowned.

"Guys! Focus!" Mr. Schue clapped his hands, "We need to get up to speed on this week's assignment. I want to see all of your performances by our next class, okay?"

After class was dismissed, the kids began to pick up their stuff and shuffle out of the room.

"Finn, can I see you for a moment?" Mr. Schuester asked, his hands in his pockets.

"Sure, Mr. Schue."

The boy glanced at his girlfriend, and Quinn nodded, saying she'd wait for him outside. She didn't mind. She could barely feel her own body. All she wanted to do was hole up in her bedroom and never leave. That morning, Finn had come to her after an early cheerleading practise and asked to talk. Quinn had noticed his nervous, almost terrified, expression, and the determination in his eyes.

When he started talking, she realized what was happening. He was breaking up with her. Quinn lost her breath when he began to explain.

_"I think I like Rachel..." he had said._

_Quinn stared at him, bubbling with irritation and... jealousy?_

_"What?" she asked, her voice barely a whisper._

_He swallowed hard, avoiding looking at her. "I'm feeling these strange feelings for her and... it's not fair to you."_

_Rage was visible in her hazel green eyes, and Finn trembled. "She has a penis, Finn!"_

_"I-I know. But I saw on Google that this kind of thing is solvable. I remember Rachel, saying something about this surgery that her doctor suggested..."_

_Tears welled up in her eyes. She felt like she'd just been stabbed in the heart. Rage was turning into despair._

_"You can't be serious."_

_"Quinn-"_

_"So you're going to ask her to be your girlfriend on the condition that she has that surgery? Is that your plan?"_

_He frowned. "Well, not quite like that."_

_"You can't do this to me, Finn."_

_"I'm sorry..."_

_She shook her head, tears flowing freely down her face. She couldn't believe it. What was going to happen? Would Rachel agree to that? To be with Finn and get a surgery? She couldn't do that. Not now that Quinn was having her child. Finn couldn't just show up like Prince Charming and turn Rachel into someone else._

_"I'm pregnant," she said._

_Finn's eyes widened. "What?" His voice was so low she barely heard him._

_"I'm pregnant," she repeated._

_He opened and closed his mouth, but no words came out._

_"Stay away from her, Finn. You can't like her. Not now." Quinn started to cry, her chest convulsing._

_Finn tried to contain his pure terror and pulled his girlfriend into a tight embrace._

Quinn leaned against the wall outside of the music room, hugging her binder, snapping back to reality when Noah Puckerman swaggered forward and leaned against the wall beside her.

"Whatever you want, I don't care, Puckerman."

"I know your dirty little secret, Quinn," he smirked, "I know about you and Rachel."

If she hadn't been leaning against a wall, she would be flat on the floor just like her binder.


	5. Chapter 04 - What is this Feeling?

**_Sweetly Wicked  
Chapter 04 - What is this Feeling?_ **

_"Come on, Quinnie, don't leave our guests waiting." Russell Fabray smiled at his youngest daughter and turned to his guests. "She is a little shy."_

_Judy softly touched her daughter's slender shoulder and offered the girl an encouraging smile. Quinn returned her mother's smile and looked up at her father, reluctantly taking a place next to the grand piano on the living room._

_In the corner of the room, she spotted the daughter of the doctor with the strange name, whom her mother had introduced her to earlier. She was smirking at Quinn. Quinn ignored the brunette and closed her eyes, letting the music flow through her fingers to the piano keys. Her sweet, smooth voice followed the melody and the guests smiled with delight._

_"When I fall in love_

_It will be forever_

_Or I'll never fall in love_

_In a restless world like this is_

_Love is ended before it's begun_

_And too many moon light kisses_

_Seem to cool in the warmth of the sun_

_When I give my heart_

_It will be completely_

_Or I'll never give my heart_

_And the moment_

_I can feel that_

_You feel that way too_

_Is when I fall in love with you…"_

"That was beautiful, Quinn! I've never seen you surrender yourself a to a song like that before."

"Mr. Schue?! I-"

Quinn darted away from the piano, knocking music sheets onto the ground. Usually, the auditorium was empty during sixth period.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you," said Mr. Schuester, hopping up the wooden steps to the stage and leaning over to pick up the sheets of paper, "I sincerely hope you play that song in glee club this week, Quinn."

He looked so hopeful that Quinn had to bite her lip and look away.

"I wasn't planning on it," she said, "I didn't think it fit the assignment."

The glee club theme for that week was, _'What Is This Feeling?'_ , in which the students had to sing a song that showed another side to their true feelings that their classmates weren't used to seeing. Quinn had no desire to display her vulnerability. Mr. Schuester swallowed uncomfortably at the look of panic in Quinn's eyes. She always seemed nervous and scared.

Every day, Mr. Schuester worried more about Quinn Fabray and Finn Hudson. Finn was clearly unprepared to deal with the situation and Quinn always looked miserable. Everyone knew that she belonged to one of the most religious and rigid families in Lima and he knew that the girl was afraid to tell her parents about her pregnancy.

"Quinn-"

The girl started weaving through the seats, toward the exit.

"I have to go. I'll see you later, Mr. Schue."

Mr. Schuester watched her leave in silence. Neither he nor Quinn realized that someone else was hidden in the shadows of the back seats in the last row. That person had seen the same performance before, only now it made much more sense.

_The little blonde stood and thanked the party guests for their applause. They all seemed stunned by her performance and Quinn was clearly puffing with pride._

_"Wow, Nat King Cole? What an unusual repertoire for a child her age, Russell," said one of the men attending the party, patting Russell on the back as Mr. Fabray tried to hide his astonishment at his daughter's unexpected choice._

_"You must be proud to have a daughter to musically talented!"_

_The guests murmured in agreement and nodded their heads in approval. A narrowed, astute pair of dark brown eyes noticed the startled looks between Mrs. Fabray and the oldest daughter, Francine. Santana Lopez was an expert at getting into trouble and it looked like little Quinnie had gotten herself into a big mess. Poor little daddy's girl. She didn't even know it yet._

"You really tricked me back there, Q," Santana muttered to herself, sure she had collected all of the piece of the puzzle that was Quinn Fabray.

**Two Days Later**

"It's a boy."

The doctor froze the image on a small screen on the ultrasound machine.

"A boy," Quinn repeated slowly, widening her hazel eyes.

"Mm hm, it's a big boy, too," the doctor repeated with a smile.

Quinn felt a smile spread across her face.

"When you say he's a big boy… do you mean he's going to be a _big boy_? You know, down there…?"

Of course Finn would ruin the moment.

Quinn had almost forgotten he was there, watching the first ultrasound that they had paid for with the help of Mr. Schuester. The doctor stared at the boy for a moment and shook her head, laughing.

"Finn!" Quinn scolded him, turning red.

Finn blushed. "Well, it's the way she said it! I just want to know if it's okay. If he's okay."

The doctor smiled and let it go, but Quinn stared at him, agitated.

"Everything is going just fine with the baby's development, Mr. Hudson," the doctor smiled.

"Wow. Okay," he smiled, "I'm gonna break the news to Mr. Schuester. Will you be okay?"

"I'll be fine."

Finn left the office, leaving Quinn alone with the obstetrician.

"Quinn?"

"Yes, Dr. Colbin?"

"I noticed that your parents haven't been present for any of your appointments."

Quinn sighed. "My parents don't know about the baby. I don't expect them to have a good reaction when they find out."

The doctor nodded. She had expected as much.

"I hope it's okay for me to ask, Quinn, but are you planning on keep the baby?"

"Excuse me?"

"I was also a mother a little early in life. I know how difficult it will be for you. It was difficult for me, and I had the support of my whole family. I just want you to know that if you decide to give the baby up, I can schedule an appointment with a social worker for you."

"I… I want to keep him."

The doctor gave Quinn a half smile and gently touched her shoulder, handing her a Kleenex to dry the tears that had started trickling down her pale face.

"I don't want you to worry about medical fees, Quinn. You're going to be a pro bono patient."

Quinn blinked at her doctor and broke out into tears again. The doctor smiled, patting her shoulder.

"Now, let's get you some vitamins to help this big boy grow."

"Benjamin."

"Excuse me?"

"I want to name him Benjamin."

"You've already chosen a name?"

Quinn nodded sheepishly.

"Benjamin is a beautiful name," Dr. Colbin smiled, "What would you have chosen if he were a girl?"

Quinn blushed and shrugged. "Oh, maybe Liza, Patti,… Barbra…"

"Someone's a Broadway fan, huh?" the doctor smirked.

"Yeah," Quinn bit her lip with a dreamy look.

xxx

Rachel took a deep breath. The last notes of the song she'd rehearsed for her weekly glee club performance still echoed in the choir room. The small brunette's heart still pounded rapidly in her chest, but still, she was unsatisfied. The music was perfect. Her feelings were expressed… but still. Something was missing.

"Well, I have to admit, that wasn't total torture."

Rachel jumped and turned around to see Santana standing behind her with her arms folded.

"What do you want?" Rachel asked quickly, taking a defensive posture, while backing away to pack up her sheet music.

Santana smiled mischievously. "Relax, hobbit. Today, Auntie Tanny is here to offer her services."

Rachel frowned suspiciously and wondered what _that_ meant. Santana took a seat on one of the chairs and crossed her legs, smirking at the small diva.

"What do you think of adding some backing vocals? And, you know, choreography wouldn't hurt. What do you say, Berry?"

"Is this a joke? Because if you think you're going to sabotage my performance-"

Santana quickly moved beside the brunette and looked intently into her brown eyes. "I just think that if you really want to kick ass with this performance, Rachel, you should hear me out."

Rachel gaped at the cheerleader. Did Santana Lopez just call her by _her name_?

"I'm listening," Rachel said, interested, "But I still don't trust you."

Santana smirked. "I wouldn't expect any less."

xxx

**Thursday Morning**

Quinn was late. The bell that signaled first period had sounded and she had yet to pick up her books from her locker. Her pregnancy made the mornings even harder and Cheerio's practice was more unbearable than usual. Lately, she'd been barking orders without actually joining in on routines, and needless to say, Coach Sylvester was unhappy.

"Hey, Q."

Quinn closed her eyes. She wasn't ready for this now.

"Puck, I'm not in the mood."

"Cut the crap, Q. I'm not falling for that dumb lie you gave me last time. I already know everything. Finn told me you're pregnant."

Quinn frowned irritably. Finn had blabbed not just to Puck, but to Mr. Schuester, who, of course, told Ms. Pillsbury, who gave her giant pity eyes every time she decided to bring her a lame 'How to Deal with Whatever' pamphlet. Apparently, Finn was hell-bent on ruining her life.

**Three Months ago**

"I know all about your dirty little secret, Fabray.

Quinn turned toward the boy.

"I know about you and Rachel."

If Quinn hadn't been leaning on the wall, she would have been on the floor with her binder. If she wasn't a Fabray, the guilt would be written all over her face, but she was a Fabray, and the Fabrays were the best liars on earth.

"What the Hell are you talking about, Puckerman?"

Puck smirked and Quinn put all her strength into keeping her mask of disdain.

"I saw you leaving the room where Rachel slept. You and her slept together, didn't you?"

"That is ridiculous! Me and Rachel Berry?! Seriously? Are you high?!"

She bent down and grabbed her binder, giving up waiting for Finn and walking down the hall to the nearest exit.

"I know what I saw, Fabray. The proof was seeing my little Jewish American princess running out of the choir room like that, after she saw you and Finn."

Quinn walked faster, remembering the pain in Rachel's eyes.

"There's just something I don't understand. Finn could barely get to second base with you, but it didn't seem difficult for Rachel to make you spend the whole night. Well, almost."

Quinn stopped and faced him, infuriated. "Look, Puckerman. That's none of your business. But before that under-formed brain of yours tries to solve this mystery, I'll satisfy your perverted curiosity. I lost my pendant, okay?"

She grabbed the gold collar that held a small gold cross that hung around her neck and shoved it in the boy's face.

"I went upstairs to use a bathroom that didn't have vomit on the floor and I lost my pendant. I didn't realize it until I got home that night. My mom gave it to me and if I lost it, I'd be dead. So I came back at dawn and looked for it and left."

Puck stared at her, incredulously. "I saw you sneaking out of the guest room."

Quinn rolled her eyes. "I didn't remember where the bathroom was, idiot. You think I memorized the entire floor plan of your house? I accidentally ended up in the wrong room. I thought it was your little sister's room but as soon as I saw Ru Paul, I bolted."

Puck scratched his head, unsure if she was telling the truth. He puffed out his chest.

"I know you're planning something, Q. You're trying to hurt my half-Jewgirl."

Quinn raised an eyebrow. "Out of my way, Puckerman."

She walked past him toward the parking lot, relieved that he had bought the lie.

**Present**

Puck fumed at her. "You're pregnant and you lied to Finn. He's not the father. Nobody gets impregnated by a hot tub of Olympic medal swimmer sperms, Fabray!"

Quinn fired several glared around them, but they were alone in the hallway. Once she confirmed no-one else was around, she grabbed Puck by the arm and pulled him through the nearest doorway.

xxx

Kurt checked his reflection in his pocket mirror. He direly needed to shape his eyebrows. If only he could find a competent stylist in Lima… Finn Hudson walked past, yawning and mumbling that he'd forgotten his locker combination.

"You will not believe what gossip the Cheerios are spillin' in the gym."

"Not now, Mercedes," Kurt said flippantly as his friend rushed forward with an eager smile on her face.

"But it's about Rachel and-"

Kurt was already walking away, toward Finn, who had managed to open his locker door and had his head stuck inside it. Kurt strode forth and gently patted the boy's shoulder. Finn's head snapped open and he looked around, wide-eyed and alert, with dried drool on the side of his face.

"Quinn! I'm sorry! I forgot your ice cream!"

The quarterback's eyes landed on Kurt and he sighed with relief. His cheeks flushed pink after being caught sleeping in his locker.

"You look exhausted, Finn. Trouble in paradise?"

"Paradise?" Finn repeated, looking confused, "Oh, you mean with Quinn… Well…"

"Say no more," Kurt waved a hand and took a step closer, "It looks like you need a few tips on how to improve your relationship. I think I'm the perfect person to help you."

Mercedes crossed her arms over her chest and frowned with indignation across the hall. She had the hottest gossip there ever was and her best friend had ditched her to put his evil plans of snatching Finn Hudson away from his battleaxe girlfriend into practice. What was she supposed to do with news this juicy? She looked left and right, and a smile blossomed on her face.

"Tina! Tina! Girl, you will not believe what I just heard."

Santana smiled down the hallway, leaning against one of the lockers, with Brittany beside her.

"I did exactly what you told me," said the blonde.

Santana smiled, proud. "Thanks, Britt. You are perfect, as always."

"We're helping, right? Because I don't want Quinn to suffer, lost inside her closet anymore. It sounds dark and boring and the last time I got lost in one, it didn't take me to Narnia, but I knocked over a can of industrial paint and a fell asleep and went to Wonderland-"

"Don't worry, Britt," Santana said, giving her a half smile, "Everything will be fine."

xxx

Puck paced around impatiently. Quinn had dragged him into an empty classroom and it had taken her nearly a full five minutes to say something. The only reason he hadn't torn the truth out of her was that she seemed to shiver with genuine anxiety.

"It was an accident," she whispered.

"What do you mean, an accident?" asked Puck.

Quinn brought her hand to her stomach and looked away. She wore a kind of vulnerability on her face that Puck had never seen her in before. He knew that this time, she was telling the truth.

"It shouldn't have happened," Quinn continued, "I wasn't… I wasn't aware… I wasn't in control of what I was doing-"

"Did someone abuse you? Is that what happened?!" Puck asked heatedly.

"No!" Quinn cried.

"You're confusing me, Q," Puck frowned.

Quinn bit her lower lip. "What happened shouldn't have happened. But it did. And now I…"

"Shit," Puck sighed, watching her hand flit back down to her stomach, "I was right, wasn't I? Finn's not the father. It happened that night, didn't it? You really did it with Rachel! Shit, Rachel is… I mean, she's… She got you pregnant."

Maybe it was pregnancy hormones, but tears welled up in Quinn's eyes and she threw herself into Puck's arms, sobbing compulsively.

"Ah, Q, don't cry. I hate seeing girls cry."

It was a strange embrace, mainly because Quinn knew that the person she wanted to hold her was the one she needed to keep her distance from. Puck patted her on the shoulder, feeling just as odd.

"I don't want to lie to Finn," she sobbed, "But he's my only way out."

Puck pulled back and looked her in the eyes. "Does Rachel know?"

Quinn shook her head.

"She has a right to know, Quinn," he said.

"No," said Quinn, tears rolling down her face, "She doesn't need to know. More than anything, what Rachel wants is to leave Lima. She wants stardom. Broadway. New York City spotlights. All that jazz. You think she wants to abandon those dreams for dirty diapers and sleepless nights taking care of a baby. She didn't even know she could have kids. She would never-"

"What about your dreams, Q? You didn't conceive this baby all by yourself."

"I'll be with Finn. It'll be enough. He'll make a good father."

Puck shook his head and they remained silent for a few long moments, while he built up the courage to make a suggestion.

"You could get rid of it. You could have it aborted."

Quinn's expression changed from sorrow to that of a cornered tiger.

"That's never going to happen, Puckerman! I'm keeping my son!"

"Okay, okay! Easy! Sorry, Q," he said, raising his arms.

"Just don't say it again," Quinn gritted her teeth.

"Okay. Okay, my bad. You're really gonna keep… your son."

"Yes. His name is Benjamin."

"Oh…"

"What?"

"Nothing, I just didn't expect you to… Benjamin. It's a nice name, Quinn." He ran a hand over his hair, "Listen… You can count on me, okay?"

Quinn sighed with relief and gratitude. "Thank you, Puck."

**Friday Morning**

Rachel sprinted through the halls. Fridays were always busy for her, and this Friday exceeded her expectations. She'd forgotten her packed bento box at home and was forced to sample food from the school cafeteria. She hated going to the cafeteria - she always ended up getting into trouble. Recently, she became a specialist in avoiding unnecessary social interaction. And yes, it had everything to do with Finn Hudson and Quinn Fabray. The few times they were forced to share the same space, the brunette did all she could to manage avoiding being in close proximity with the couple.

Rachel entered the cafeteria and mentally traced a path that would get her in and out as fast as possible. Nonetheless, she was able to notice that the cafeteria had a strange air about it today. Out of the corners of her eyes, she saw Cheerios whispering to each other as she walked past. Not a good sign. Brittany Pierce walked past her and said, "Hey, Rach, what's up?"

The blonde winked at her and kept walking, shaking her hips in a way that made her skirt sway and show off her legs. Rachel blinked and decided not to think about. After Santana had appeared in the choir room two days ago, Brittany had been speaking to her more often. Maybe she was just attempting to display some courteous behavior.

Or not.

David Karofsky was walking toward her now with a slushie in hand. Rachel sighed, accepting her fate. It was about time. She was preparing herself for the inevitable when the surreal happened. Santana Lopez strode forward and slapped a gratuitous cup of slush into his face. The whole cafeteria fell silent, except for the surprised scream of the broad football player. Santana Lopez looked around as if challenging anyone to say something. She looked back and winked at Rachel.

Rachel could hardly believe what just happened. Santana walked away, nonchalant, leaving almost the entire school gaping at Rachel Berry.

xxx

"Mr. Schue?" Finn called his teacher, tapping on the door of his office.

Lately, the quarterback was always seeking his foremost male role model to talk about his problems. For whatever reason, he couldn't stop thinking about Rachel Berry, even with a pregnant girlfriend.

"Hey, Finn, how are you feeling today?" the teacher said, straightening some paperwork on his desk and motioning to the chair in front of him, silently inviting Finn to sit.

"I'm fine. Real tired… but I'm okay," he said, closing the door behind him and sitting down.

Mr. Schuester nodded with concern in his eyes. "How is Quinn?"

Finn sighed deeply. "It's hard. I mean, I know that all of this is difficult for her, but it's like she doesn't realize that it's difficult for me, too. I keep thinking that I'm not ready for this. I'm trying to find a job, but she just doesn't give me a break. She's pissed at me all the time. We barely even kiss anymore. And there are those baby hormones. If I said any of this out loud to her she would burst into tears. Quinn crying is scarier than Quinn yelling. I've never seen her cry before. Now she starts sobbing when I forgot to put mayo in her BLTs."

"I know this is hard for you, Finn, but I'm sure your mother will support you completely if you tell her. I know that Quinn thinks her family will disown her…"

"I think they need to know. I don't think Mr. and Mrs. Fabray would really throw her out. I think Quinn's just scared. And… I have an idea."

xxx

This week's glee assignment was woefully boring. Quinn couldn't believe that Mr. Schuester was so naive. Did he really think that the entire club would willing to spill their deepest feelings through song? She rolled her eyes as Mercedes and Kurt started to sing their duet. Really? A mash-up of Single Ladies and If I Were a Boy. What is that even supposed to mean? Quinn decided she definitely wouldn't perform today. Finn had insisted they sing a mash-up of Father and Son by Cat Stevens and Love Will Keep Us Alive by The Scorpions. She almost burned the boy with one look when he suggested it.

Puck stood and grabbed his guitar. After the talk they'd had, they established an unspoken bond of trust. Not that they were suddenly best friends who ate lunch together and shared all of their secrets. Puck knew about her pregnancy, but she never shared all of her insecurities with him. Even so, his presence brought her some peace of mind. Quinn felt a little less cowardly. Like her life wasn't a mountain of lies.

Puck was singing The Great Pretender by Freddie Mercury. She had to admit, the boy seemed to be the only one so far who followed the assignment. But then he looked up at her as he sang the words, " _Oh yes, I'm the great pretender, pretending I'm doing well.",_ and Quinn's heart quickened. It was as if he had chosen that song for her.

 _'Oh yeah, that would fit perfectly.'_ She thought. Perhaps she should be the person who was singing that.

Puck turned at Rachel as he sang, " _My need is such, I pretend too much, I'm lonely but no-one can tell."_ Quinn widened her eyes and stared at him. She hoped the glee club wouldn't learn the meaning behind his performance. Rachel didn't look interested and no-one looked they were suspecting that she had a disclosed secret. Quinn relaxed a little. The only people who knew about her pregnancy were Finn, Mr. Schuester, Ms. Pillsbury and now Puck. She doubted anyone else would be able to connect the dots.

Everyone stood and applauded for Puck at the end of his performance.

"Wow, Puck, that was a really heartfelt performance. It's clear you've taken this assignment seriously," Mr. Schuester smiled, patting the boy's shoulder.

Quinn heard Rachel snort and remembered that the girl had yet to give her performance and would probably take the assignment very seriously.

"To tell you the truth, Mr. Schue, the feelings put into it weren't mine. I was just the messenger."

Quinn gulped. Rachel stood up to the sound of some groaning. Quinn was on the verge of a panic attack now. She felt a lump form in her throat when Brad started playing the first few notes on his piano. Rachel leaned against the baby grand, looking far away as she started to sing. " _What do you do when you know something's bad for you but you still can't let go?_ "

Quinn's heart sank. That was the worst song she could've chosen. Rachel paced across the room with a forlorn look on her face as the music played. She walked past Tina, who had just taken a sucker out of her messenger bag, and snatched the candy.

" _I was naive, your love was like candy_

_Artificially sweet_

_I was deceived by the wrapping._ "

Rachel closed her eyes as she passed Kurt and Mercedes.

" _Got caught in your web and I learned how to bleed._ "

Quinn froze as Rachel softly touched the leg of the chair she was sitting in.

" _I was prey in your bed…"_ She dropped the sucker between Quinn and Finn's chairs and backed away toward the piano, " _And devoured completely._ "

Quinn took a deep breath and tried to control the urge to run away.

" _And it hurts my soul…"_

Santana and Brittany stood and walked toward the brunette, chanting ' _my soul'_ behind her. Quinn eyes widened and the glee club gaped at the performance. Mercedes looked positively giddy. Finn fidgeted in his chair.

_"…cause I can't let go_

_All these walls are caving in_

_I can't stop my suffering_

_I hate to show that I lost control_

_Cause I, I keep going right back_

_To the one thing that I need_

_To walk away from_

_Yeah."_

The Cheerios' skirts swayed sensuously as they sang background, their hands sliding possessively around Rachel.

" _I need to get away from you_

_Need to walk away from you_

_Get away, walk away, walk away."_

Rachel didn't move much, seeming completely aloof to the seductive touches and gestures of her backup singers. Her gaze still conveyed all of the pain she felt.

" _I should have known that I was used for amusement."_

 _"For amusement,"_ Brittany whispered in the brunette's ear.

_"Couldn't see through the smoke. It was all an illusion. Now I've been licking my wounds."_

_"Licking my wounds,"_ Santana sang, biting lightly Rachel on the shoulder.

_"But the venom seeps deeper_

_We both can seduce_

_But , darling , you hold me prisoner_

_Oh_

_I'm about to break_

_I can't stop this ache_

_I'm addicted to your allure_

_And I'm fiendin' for a cure_

_Every step I take leads to one mistake_

_I keep going right back to the one thing that I need"_

The whole club was enraptured by the dramatic performance their co-captain was giving. Quinn struggled to breathe and Finn watched, unmoving. Rachel wrapped her arms around herself as if to contain her pain.

_"Oh_

_I can't mend this torn state I'm in_

_Getting nothing in return_

_What did I do to deserve_

_The pain of this slow burn_

_And everywhere I turn_

_I keep going right back to the one thing that I need_

_To walk away from_

_Yeaah_

_I need to get away from you, need to walk away from you_

_Every time I try to grasp for air_

_I am smothered in despair_

_It's never over, over, oh_

_Seems I'll never wake from this nightmare_

_I let out a silent prayer_

_Let it be over, over, ooh_

_Inside I'm screaming, begging, pleading no more..."_

_Now what to do_

_My heart has been bruised."_

The chocolate brown eyes meet Quinn's hazel ones and the Head Cheerio and felt everything around her broke apart.

_"…So sad but it's true_

_Each beat reminds me of you"_

Quinn couldn't hear anything after that although Rachel continued to sing her heart in every note.

_"Oooh_

_It hurts my soul, cause I can't let go_

_All these walls are caving in_

_I can't stop my suffering_

_I hate to show that I've lost control_

_Cause I keep going right back to the one thing that I need"_

_I'm about to break_

_I can't stop this ache_

_I'm addicted to your allure_

_And I'm fiending for a cure_

_Every step I take leads to one mistake_

_I keep going right back to the one thing that I need_

_Oh_

_I can't mend this torn state I'm in_

_Getting nothing in return_

_What did I do to deserve_

_The pain of this slow burn_

_And everywhere I turn_

_I keep going right back to the one thing that I need_

_To walk away from"_

Santana ran her hands through Rachel's hair and Brittany crouched down and slid her hands over the girl's leg. Mr. Schuester eyes bugged out as Rachel sang the final notes.

_"Dying_

_Oooh_

_I said_

_Need to get away from you, need to walk away from you_

_Get away, walk away, walk away_

_Get away, walk away, walk away_

_Only thing I need to do_

_Is walk away from you"_

The entire glee club stared silently as the three girls stood in the center of the room as the music was extinguished and the song ended. Rachel took a deep breath, her chest rising and falling rapidly. Her eyes fell on Quinn. The blonde stood up and ran out of the room without a word.

"Damn, Berry," Puck snapped from the back of the classroom.

"Finn," said Mr. Schuester, snapping the boy out of his sorrowful trance, "Go after her."

"Why the hell did you do this?" Puck asked, pissed, as Finn ran after his girlfriend.

Rachel stared at him, incredulous. "What do you mean, Noah?"

"I mean, what the fuck were you thinking when you put this little ditty together?!"

"None of your business, Puckerman," Santana snapped, standing next to the small brunette, protective.

"Guys, guys!" Mr. Schuester tried to wrangle them.

"Fuck off, Lopez. I know she didn't come up with this alone."

"Fuck _you_ , Puckerman!" Santana shouted before Brittany grabbed her by the shoulders and pulled her back before she could maul the boy.

The rest of the class watched in bewildered confusion. No-one understood why Quinn had reacted that way to Rachel's performance or why Puck seemed to think Rachel was at fault.

"I don't understand what has you so upset, Noah. None of this is your concern."

"You might be right, Rachel, but you know what? You should fucking care."

"Stop swearing at me! What am I supposed to care about?!" Rachel angrily challenged.

"You're trying to tell me you don't care about her?! She's fucking pregnant!"

Time seemed to stop in the choir room.

"Puck! Principal's office! Now!" shouted Mr. Schuester.

Puck stormed out of the room, swearing loudly. Mr. Schuester ran his hands through his hair and looked at his class. Everyone in the room was stunned but no-one was as pale as Rachel.

"She's pregnant…" Rachel muttered and glanced at Santana, who immediately reached out to hold the brunette as she fainted.

xxx

Quinn ran. Somewhere behind her, she heard Finn calling her name, but she didn't stop. The voice eventually dissipated and she found herself inside her car in the school parking lot, soaked in the rain that she hadn't even noticed was falling. She started to cry, trembling from the cold. Rachel's voice echoed in her mind.

_I should have known I was used for amusement._

Quinn slammed her fists on the steering wheel and sobbed. Outside, the rain fell harder and she wanted to scream to let the pain out. It was too much. She wasn't strong enough to handle it. "Please, Lord, help me, I'm begging you. Don't leave me."

"You're Quinn Fabray, right?"

Quinn shook and lifted her face to see a woman sitting in her passenger seat.

"Who the hell are you?"

"Oh, dear, you do look pretty desperate," said the honey blond woman, looking Quinn up and down, "I'm Mrs. Schuester. My husband teaches that little club of yours… At least you look healthy."

Quinn wiped the tears from her face. Mrs. Schuester had a creepy stare, almost maniacal, and she was looking at Quinn like she wanted to snatch her.

"What do you want? What are you doing in my car?"

"I know what happened to you. My husband told me. I want to help you solve all of your problems."

"I don't understand…"

"I need to save my marriage. And you need to keep being the golden girl throughout high school because this is your peak. So, I think you should let me raise your baby."

"Excuse me?"

"Let me have the baby. I'll take care of it and you can go back to doing whatever it is you do. Being popular, singing in glee club… Are you a natural blonde?"

Quinn bugged her eyes out. "Get out of my car."

"Won't you just consider it?"

"No! Get out of my car, now!"

Mrs. Schuester glared at her and angrily opened the car door, throwing back a menacing gaze before she left.

"You will change your mind. And when you do, you come find me."

Quinn started the car and sped down the road. She just wanted to get off of the campus as soon as possible. She started to lose track of time as she weaved randomly through Lima's streets. She hadn't thought to pick up her books, which were still in the choir room, or answer her cell phone, which kept ringing on the seat beside her. She just drove.

It was dark when she finally went home. She headed straight to her bedroom, ignoring her mother. She skipped dinner and refused to open the door when her mother insisted she tell her what happened. Her father didn't come looking for her. The hours passed and Quinn continued to cry. It was all too much. As much as she tried, she couldn't shake the image of pain in Rachel's eyes. She couldn't do this anymore. It hurt too much.

_Quinn bit into her BLT on a playground picnic table beside the new friend she made._

_"Do you like to sing, Rachel?" Quinn asked the humming brunette, "What's your favorite song?"_

_Rachel's brown eyes lit up. "I love to sing! I have so many favorite songs. I can't choose one." Rachel thought about it, and continued, "Barbra is my idol, but yesterday Dad was listening to his favorite singer and I kind of liked it. It was 'When I fall in Love' by Nat King Cole, and although I like the duet version between Harry Connick, Jr. and Celine Dion, I need to confess that the original version was superb. Of course, Dad and I started a little argument because he says I should appreciate the classics but Celine Dion is one my muses. Her vocal range is phenomenal."_

_The little blonde blinked with astonishment. She hadn't understood most of what Rachel said, but she liked that her friend talked like an adult and liked different things than the rest of the kids in their grade._

_"You talk funny," said Quinn._

_Rachel's heart skipped a beat. Quinn thought she was funny! No-one though Rachel was funny! Quinn poked her arm._

_"Huh?"_

_"Can you sing that song for me?" Quinn asked shyly._

_"What song?"_

_"That one you told me about. When I Fall In Love. I want to know it."_

Rachel's performance had brought back so many memories. Quinn could hear it echoing in her bedroom. She buried her face into a pillow. It was too much.

_"What's your favorite song, Quinn?"_

_"Twinkle Twinkle Little Star," Quinn announced proudly and began singing watching Rachel beamed at her, "Twinkle twinkle little star, how I wonder what you are. Up above the world so high, like a diamond in the sky. Twinkle twinkle little star, how I wonder what you are."_

Lost in memories in the darkness of her room, Quinn Fabray whispered the lullaby in between tears.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If anyone is interested this is the chapter top playlist:
> 
> WHEN I FALL IN LOVE BY NAT KING COLE
> 
> THE GREAT PRETENDER BY QUENN - FREDDIE MERCURY
> 
> WALK AWAY - CHRISTINA AGUILERA


	6. Chapter 05 – Something Bad

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW: Child abuse.

**_Sweetly Wicked_ **

**_Chapter 05 – Something Bad_ **

 

**Sunday - 01:25 AM**

_It's getting colder and darker and I can barely feel my legs now. My whole body hurts and I can't move. No-one will find me here. Not in time, anyways. And it's all my fault. Oh God, why can't I be stronger? At least until he's safe._

"Lord, spare my baby. Keep him safe."

Quinn was on the verge of unconsciousness, murmuring hopeless prayers in between tears. The darkness grew around her, her eyes unable to see the pool of blood around her.

"Rachel," was the last thing she said before the darkness consumed her.

xxx

_"This has been a lovely night, Judy," Mrs. Peterson praised the host, "You have a beautiful family."_

_Judy returned all of her guests' compliments with a charming and humble smile._

_"Alice, dear, I'm just grateful you and your family could join us tonight. I hope we can have tea together as soon as possible so we can exchange those recipes!"_

_"Call soon, Judy. Oh, and congratulations to your precious Quinn. I'm amazed by her talent! Such a darling girl."_

_Judy's smile didn't reach her eyes, but Mrs. Peterson didn't notice. Being a Fabray meant being able to camoflage any emotion. Usually._

_"She is our darling little angel," Judy replied._

_Judy hurriedly shuffled the last of the party guests out of the house when she heard the echo of her husband's booming voice upstairs. Judy wore a stern, unsavory expression as she smoothed down the front of her vintage '50s house dress and walked upstairs, into Quinn's bedroom. Her daughter's face was streaked with tears as Russell yelled._

_"Am I to believe that I am spending a fortune on piano lessons so that you can sing songs by filthy negros? I thought I was very clear when I specified to your instructor what kind of music you were to play," he said, pacing back and forth, slapping a leather belt against his palm. Suddenly, he turned to his wife. "Did you know about this, Judith?"_

_Judy trembled visibly, shaking her head. "I supervised all her classes, just like you asked, dear. She never learned that song in her lessons."_

_Russell turned to his daughter, who was huddling against a wall._

_"Where did you learn that song, Quinn?"_

_"Rachel…" she spoke, almost inaudible, "She's my special friend from school. She likes that song and I asked her to sing it for me. She has a beautiful voice, daddy…"_

_Quinn thought that maybe if she could explain to her father how lovely Rachel was, he would understand._

_"Special friend?"_

_"Yes. Ms. Amber says she's special-"_

_"Rachel?" Russell's eyes widened, "Rachel Berry, that abomination?"_

_Judy shuddered and glanced back at Francine, who was at the end of the hall, peeking out of her bedroom door and biting her nails._

_"You think that abomination is_ special _?" he asked, almost spitting out the word._

_Quinn didn't know what to say. She didn't understand where her father's anger was coming from. Rachel_ was _special, wasn't she?_

_"Y-Yes."_

_Quinn cried out and Judy hugged herself when Russell bent the small girl over his knee and lashed at her with the belt._

_"I'm teaching you what happens to people who give in to these sinful abominations, Quinn. No daughter of mine is going to mix with the freaks and the unsavories."_

Xxx

**Saturday Morning**

Rachel burst into Dr. Palmer's office, ranting, completely desperate.

"I'm a boy! How could you not tell me that I'm a boy?!"

The doctor stood and approached the girl, glad that none of her patients were present. "Rachel, what's going on?" she asked, holding the girl by the shoulders.

"I'm a boy! How could you lie to me?"

She shook away from the doctor's grip and paced the room.

"Rachel, sit, please."

The brunette complied, still huffing.

"Listen to me, Rachel," said Dr. Palmer, taking a seat in front of her, "You're not a boy. You're a girl."

Rachel looked exhausted, with puffy, red eyes.

"No. No, no, no, no. If I were a girl, this wouldn't be happening to me."

"What do you mean? I thought we'd made this clear, Rachel. You're just as much a girl as any other. Yes, you have external male genitalia but you have female reproductive organs. You are capable of carrying a child-"

Rachel laughed humorlessly. "I'm already having a child! But guess what?! Someone else is carrying it?"

The doctor flinched, a bewildered look on her face before she quickly composed herself. "You had sex?"

"How else am I going to get a girl pregnant?" she asked bitterly, a wild look in her eyes.

Dr. Palmer crossed her arms over her chest and sat back in her chair, attempting not to look rattled. "Why didn't you come to me about this?"

"I'm not going to talk to you about that! It's personal!"

"Rachel, you know that you can trust me-"

"Can I?! Because you made me believe that I was a girl. Girls can't do this! This doesn't happen to girls! You lied to me! Everyone at school is right, I'm a freak!" Rachel began to yell.

"No, Rachel-"

"Yes, I am!" she continued to yell, tears running down her face, "I trusted you!"

"I didn't lie to you Rachel. You _should_ trust me-"

"I want to! I want to trust you. I haven't even told my dads. I decided to only tell you because you're the one I needed, Mom-"

Rachel's eyes widened and she smacked her hand against her mouth. Dr. Palmer's mouth fell open. Even she couldn't hide her surprise.

"I mean-" Rachel stammered, tears welling up all over again.

The doctor reached over and embraced the small brunette in a hug.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to say that," Rachel sobbed against the doctor's shoulder, "I'm sorry. I know this is weird and unprofessional."

"No, it's okay," said Dr. Palmer, gripping Rachel's shoulder and holding her at arm's length, "It's natural for you to latch on to a mother figure. In this case, it's me. I can handle that. It's okay."

Rachel gave Dr. Palmer and forlorn look before her face crumpled and she burst out into tears again. "Nothing's okay."

xxx

Quinn craned her neck to look at the clock above the headboard while her cellphone rang incessantly on her night stand. It was one o'clock in the afternoon and her hair was still mussed from the pillows on her bed. She had decided not to train with the Cheerios that Saturday morning and instead stay in her room all day, not having to explain or justify what happened in the choir room that day. She had used up enough energy convincing her mother that she felt fine. Santana's name flashed on her cellphone screen. Quinn switched off the phone and buried her face in the pillows again.

xxx

Santana stared at her cell phone, annoyed. This time, the call routed straight to a dial-tone. She shoved the phone into her gym bag.

"I was trying not to be a bitch about this, Fabray, but you leave me no choice," she mumbled heatedly to herself. Brittany wrung her hands together as she leaned against a wall of lockers and stared at her friend.

"San, please?"

"Not this time, Britt. You have no idea how much she's fucked things up now."

xxx

_Santana didn't like hanging out in the playground during recess. To her it seemed stupid and childish. She would have preferred nap time, especially since she stayed up late with her abuela last night watching re-runs of Mexican soap operas. That was what she called real entertainment. Why did her teachers insist that she spend time with these baby morons?_

_"Malditos tiranos. If I could take them all straight down to Lima Heights…" the little Latina murmured as she paced the playground._

_She looked around, contemplating the best place to curl up and take a nap uninterrupted. A large blue tube had been abandoned in the middle of the courtyard and Santana walked up to it only to hear weeping coming from the inside. She leaned over and looked inside to see Quinn 'The Sun Shines Out Her Ass' Fabray crying into her balled fists._

_Santana rolled her eyes. "Did the baby get hurt? Or was Daddy mad that his darling angel was showing off last night?"_

_Quinn jumped at the sound of Santana's voice, raising her head too high and too fast and smacking her skull against the top of the hard rubber tube. She raised her arms over her head and winced at the dull pain, only for the sleeve of her sundress to ride up, revealing a line of purpling welts on her pale skin._

_Santana's brown eyes widened and she hurriedly got down on all fours, fitting half of her body into the tube and unceremoniously pulling the sleeve up. "What's this?"_

_Quinn gasped at the feel of Santana jerking at her sore skin. It looks like the welts continued on to Quinn's back, and Santana wondered how far they went._

_Santana's expression turned cold. "Why did he do this to you?"_

_Quinn continued to cry, turning her face away from the other girl, hugging herself. Quinn just wanted to forget. She'd handled the pain all morning. And when Rach-... when that freak gave her a 'good day', she decided to let off steam. Daddy said she would go to Hell if she talked to the abomination. She bit back tears at the thought of what she said to Rachel that morning._ Leave me alone, you freak! You're not special! You're an abomination! I'm not friends with you.

_It wasn't Quinn's fault. She would have been a sinner for_ not _doing it. God would punish her for being friends with Rachel Berry. She told herself not to cry. That crying was weak and that she was a Fabray and Fabrays weren't weak. She was a good girl. Even if she'd made Rachel cry._

_Quinn sniffed and willed herself to stop crying. She wasn't going to look weak, especially in front of Santana Lopez._

_"Don't touch me," she spat, "We're not friends. I saw how you looked at me yesterday. You hate me and I hate you, too."_

_Santana was surprised by not only Quinn's anger, but how easily cruel words spilled out of her mouth._

_"My abuela told me that sometimes you have to pack a punch to get respect," Santana said, sounding much older than she was, "So if someone bothers me, I bite them."_

_Quinn didn't look at Santana, but she listened._

_"I could tell he was upset when you played that song," Santana continued, "Why?"_

_Quinn looked at Santana, her eyes widened. How had Santana picked up on her father's emotions when she couldn't? Was Santana more astute than she was given credit for? Quinn's face crumpled._

_"I don't know," she began to cry._

_Santana put her arm tentatively on Quinn's shoulder and Quinn inched forward, letting the dark-haired girl hug her. It was a strange embrace, especially because the girls had never liked each other, but Quinn needed simple comfort, even if it was from a virtual stranger. Her own mother had averted her eyes when the welts started to bruise and her sister pretended to sleep as Quinn winced from the pain at night. Her father couldn't even look at her._

xxx

**Saturday - 19:40 PM**

Quinn changed out of her musty pajamas. She'd spent the entire day in her bedroom and even though she was reluctant, the Cheerio decided to go downstairs to get something to eat. She grabbed her cellphone from her night stand and turned it back on. Several missed call messages appeared on her screen. Some were from Brittany and Finn, but the vast majority were from Santana. She sighed.

"I am not ready to deal with you right now, Lopez," she grumbled under her breath.

"Too bad, Q. I'm not leaving until we work this shit out."

Quinn gasped and whirled around to see Santana leaning against her door jamb.

"What the Hell are you doing here?" asked the blonde.

"I'm waiting for an explanation. So you're hiding from the world now because you have Berry spawn growing inside of you?"

xxx

"Rachel, breathe," Dr. Palmer calmly commanded.

She and the brunette had been standing on the porch of the Berry household for a few long minutes. Rachel shivered as the key fell from her hand. Dr. Palmer furrowed her brow with concern. She had canceled all of her sessions for the day to be with Rachel when she told her fathers the news. She wouldn't have done it for any other patient, but Rachel was special.

Regina Palmer had been there when Rachel was born. In the past, she and Shelby Corcoran, Rachel's biological mother, had been inseparable, but things had changed a lot since Rachel's birth. Shelby had made it clear that she wouldn't let a child - especially such an abnormal child - come between her and her future on Broadway. At the time, Regina hadn't been old enough to adopt Rachel herself, but it didn't stop her from visiting the baby at the hospital - and then at the temporary foster home - every day for almost a month until the Berrys had filed for adoption.

Soon after Rachel had been adopted, Regina went to Stanford University, where she got her PhD in child psychology. She'd never shaken the image of the small, pink, innocent Rachel from her mind. Four years later, Regina returned to Lima to find herself helping that same baby girl she had loved from the moment she saw her.

"I'm not getting any younger," Regina said playfully.

Rachel threw her a glare. She slid the key into the door and went inside. They found Hiram and LeRoy in the kitchen, drying dishes together. Hiram's eyes shifted nervously between Regina and Rachel as they entered.

"Hello," he said, wiping his soapy hands against a dish rag, "What's going on?"

Regina looked over at Rachel, who was practically paralyzed with fear.

"Rachel wanted me to come, so we could all have a calm conversation," she explained to the men.

Hiram and LeRoy exchanged looks. "What is this about, Rachel?" asked LeRoy.

Regina cleared her throat. "Perhaps a pot of coffee? It's probably going to be a long evening."

Xxx

Finn glanced at the small bouquet of red roses in his right hand. He took a deep, cleansing breath and knocked on the front door of Fabray home. Mr. Schuester was right. He needed to take responsibility and forget his attraction to Rachel. He needed to bury his feelings and be a man. He had to remind himself that he was dating the hottest girl in school - maybe the hottest girl in Ohio - and she was pregnant with his child. It didn't make any sense to be attracted to a girl who wasn't even a real girl.

This time, he would get things right with Quinn. He couldn't understand why she had run from the choir room like that yesterday, but he could only assume it was something he had done. She probably noticed how eagerly he was staring at Rachel during her performance. His girlfriend probably thought he was a pervert.

"Finn?"

Finn looked down at Judy Fabray, looking as inviting and elegant as ever. He took another deep breath and gave her a crooked smile from the porch. He had to impress his future mother-in-law, after all.

"Hey, Mrs. Fabray. Is Quinn home?"

The woman smiled at him and then at the flowers in his hand before gesturing for him to come in.

"Yes, dear, she's just upstairs. Her friend, Santana, is with her. I think it'll be a nice surprise for her to see you."

Finn didn't like the idea of sharing this moment with Santana, but he followed Judy upstairs, anyways, toward his girlfriend's bedroom.

xxx

"What?!"

"Oh, cut the crap, Quinn. After your little show in the choir room, you still have the balls to lie to me?"

The images of Santana grabbing seductively at Rachel filled Quinn's mind and she gritted her teeth in anger.

" _My_ little show? I was the one putting on a show? From what I remember, you were the one grinding _Rachel_. You were the one putting on a damn show, Lopez."

"Oh, now she's Rachel, and I'm Lopez, huh? I think it's obvious how you really feel, Q."

Quinn narrowed her eyes. "What are you doing here, Santana?

Santana took a few steps toward he blonde and Quinn lifted her chin, holding her steady gaze.

"I'm tired of being your pitbull," Santana sneered.

"My pitbull? What the Hell does that mean?"

Santana smirked. "I'm done."

"What the Hell are you talking about? Done with what?"

"What am I talking about?! All this time I have put all of my energy into making sure you didn't get hurt again, but this time you have really screwed the pooch and there is nothing I can do to stop it."

"I-"

"Shut up. Stop talking for once, okay? Everyone knows you're pregnant. Puck practically threw it in our faces yesterday."

Quinn felt her legs lose balance and she quickly took a seat at the edge of her bed.

"How could you?" Santana asked, "We tortured her since grade school. You were the ice queen and I was your pitbull and I ran over anyone who stood in your way. And you have no idea how hard I worked to keep Rachel Berry away from you. I knew what you two being friends would mean for you. So did you! I tortured her to protect you. You know that."

Tears streamed down Quinn's face. She could barely hear Santana. The thought that everyone knew she was pregnant was making her head pound.

"How could you never tell me that you were in love with her?"

"I'm not-"

"Stop lying to me, Quinn. Don't you dare."

Quinn stood up, crying angrily. "What am I supposed to do? I can't be in love with someone like her. I can't. She's an abomination. I'm not a sinner. I don't want to be a sinner!"

"Oh, fuck you, Fabray. You're carrying her goddamn child. I thought I was protecting you but I was just helping you turn into your father. I helped you torture someone for years because I thought it would keep you out of trouble but it was just because you couldn't bear the idea to be in love for someone who wasn't suitable. And now you tell me that you're worried about being a _sinner_? Well, guess what? You already are. You lied to me, you lied to Rachel and you lied to Finn! Fuck! You even lied to yourself! You're a fucking liar, Quinn, and you keep hiding behind God when you have no idea what God is."

Santana was beginning to struggle not to cry out of frustration.

"You know, I always knew that the only reason your parents even let me in this house was because my parents are rich. Otherwise, I'm a hundred percent sure your dad would have said adios to the dirty Mexicans. But I didn't care about your racist bible-thumper parents because I never thought you were like them."

"Santana-"

"No. I'm going to make this right. I'm not going to torture Rachel Berry anymore and I'm not going to let you do it either."

"Santana, please," Quinn sobbed, "I need a friend…"

"No, Quinn. You don't want to be friends with a sinner. Which is what I am, now, I guess. Now that I'm in love with Brittany. You're supposed to despise people like me, right?"

Santana turned around and left the room, brushing right past Finn and Judy, who had been standing, shell-shocked in the hall. Quinn had her face buried in her hands when Finn asked, "Is it true?"

Quinn gasped and looked up, her heart dropping. Finn stood in the doorway with a bouquet of roses limp in his hand.

"Is it true?" he asked again, "Answer me!"

He threw the roses on the ground, making Quinn shudder.

"Yes," she meekly uttered.

Finn stared at her, disbelieving. "It's Rachel's…?"

"Finn, please-"

"Is it?!"

Quinn swallowed. "Yes."

Finn barked out a shocked laugh. "Damn it. Damn you. I'm done with you!"

He turned and left, leaving Judy staring into the room from the hall, in total shock.

"Mom…" Quinn sobbed.

Judy shook her head. She had known when she'd woken up that something bad would happen that day, but nothing like this. All she could think of was her husband. What would he do when he found out?

"Quinnie," she began to say in a whispered voice when the front door slammed shut with a boom, shaking the whole house.

"Sinner!"

Panic gripped at Judy as Quinn's face paled in complete fear.

"My own flesh and blood!" Russell's booming voice echoed through the house.

His heavy footsteps leapt up the stairs and he appeared in the doorway, a look of animalistic anger on his face. Quinn felt the blood freeze in her veins. Judy held her breath and the girls met eyes. Judy quickly looked away. Russell sprung forward and raised his fist.

The thud of flesh hitting flesh was horrifying. Judy turned away from the room as Quinn hit the floor, her mouth starting to fill with blood.

"Get your stuff and get out of this house. You're not my daughter anymore. You have fifteen minutes. And you can thank God that's the merciful punishment I decided to give."

xxx

"Quinn Fabray?" LeRoy stared at his daughter from across the kitchen table, "I… I just thought we raised you differently."

Rachel lowered her head in shame.

"Had you and Quinn been drinking?" Hiram asked seriously.

Rachel looked up at him. "No. I mean, Quinn was little tipsy-"

"Rachel! How could you-"

"I didn't take advantage of her, Dad, if that's what you're implying," Rachel said angrily, "I wouldn't have done anything if I didn't think…"

She shook her head. "Look, you don't know how persuasive she can be. And that's hardly… It doesn't matter now, okay?"

Hiram bit his bottom lip. "God, Rachel, couldn't you have at least used protection?"

Rachel blushed and muttered something.

"What did you say, young lady?"

"That she didn't think this could happen," said Regina, who had been sitting beside Rachel, sipping on black coffee.

"I never looked at the tests," Rachel sighed.

"Which tests?" Both of men asked.

"The fertility tests," said Regina.

LeRoy threw up his arms and Hiram angrily rolled his eyes.

"Well, it doesn't matter, because now we know!" Rachel exclaimed, frustrated.

"Rachel," Hiram sighed, "We're… surprised. And I'm not going to lie, we're disappointed. But we love you and we're going to support you and Quinn with this… responsibility."

Rachel sniffed as her fathers gathered beside her to hold her in an embrace. Regina smiled subtly at them. She knew everything would work out now that Rachel was part of a loving family.

xxx

**Saturday Night – 11:35 PM**

"You did what?"

"She lied to me, Puck! I wasn't going to stay there!"

Puck rose from the couch and looked at his friend, stunned. Finn had arrived hours ago, manic and close to tears. Puck had offered him a reluctant shoulder a couple of cold ones, trying to figure out what had happened.

"You heard he say all of that to her and you just left her there? Alone?" Puck asked, starting to feel enraged when Finn had relayed the dramatic story of what had happened in the Fabray household.

Finn had angrily spilled Quinn's secret to Russell Fabray as he pulled his car up into the driveway and heard the furious father roar as he bound into his home. Finn had been walking away with his back to the home when he'd heard Quinn scream from inside.

"She cheated on me and lied to me, Puck! The baby isn't mine!"

"And so you walk away while that Christ crusader is probably beating her? What if he hurts the baby?!"

"Who cares, Puck?! It's not my baby!" Finn yelled manically, "It's not yours either, so why are you-"

Puck grabbed Finn by the collar and pulled him up in a fraction of a second.

"He probably kicked her out, you idiot. And it's freezing. I get that you're hurt, but a beaten, homeless pregnant girl? We have to help her."

"Are you kidding me? Quinn Fabray does not need a hero, Puck. Definitely not you. Not me…"

Puck stared at him for a second, buckling his brow, before he let go of the boy's collar and walked out of the house. Finn ran a hand through his hair, shaken, before he picked up one of the beers and threw it at the wall. The glass smashed and the frothy amber liquid spilled down the floral wallpaper.

xxx

She didn't have time to grab a coat. She had barely managed to shove some clothes into a plastic bag. She'd also been too shaken to remember to grab the wad of cash she had saved in one of her dresser drawers. She'd grabbed a few dresses, her Cheerios uniform, her favorite paperback book from under her pillow and her small red jewellry box. Nothing more.

Now, Quinn was wandering through Lima's streets in the cold, carrying a plastic bag and a white cotton pillowcase. She was limping, after falling on her leg in her bedroom. Her knee and her right ankle were scuffed up after she'd thrown all of her weight on her leg in an attempt to cover her stomach.

Her face was still sore and her left eye twitching. Her father's hand had been large and calloused, as always, and he wore a brass ring. She was willing to bet the side of her face was pink and raw. She wondered how she would explain a mark on her face, but she realized that it didn't matter anymore. All that mattered now was her son. She tripped over her feet and fell to her knees on the sidewalk, gasping as she put an arm over her stomach. She gulped and rose again.

xxx

**Saturday - 11:58 PM**

Rachel was exhausted, but she had calmed considerably. Talking to her parents had taken the weight off of her shoulders. The only thing they wanted her to do was to talk to Quinn. They were unhappy that Quinn didn't tell Rachel about her pregnancy, but Hiram knew her parents, and wouldn't hold it against the girl for being too scared to come forward. They still wanted to offer Quinn their support.

Rachel wasn't expecting Quinn to be grateful or to even accept their offer, mostly because she didn't think that Quinn was ready to handle any earnest feelings between the two of them. She was getting ready for bed when someone knocked loudly on the front. She heard one of her fathers answer and then quickly call her name.

Panic shivered through her body and she made it out to the landing, when Noah Puckerman had begun bounding up the staircase. Puck grabbed her by the arm, looking terrified. LeRoy had followed him up and calmly put himself between the boy and his daughter.

"It's Quinn! Rachel, please, tell me you know where she is."

LeRoy was holding the boy back while Hiram worriedly asked if he should call the police.

"No!" Rachel snapped, catching the attention of the three men. She inched closer to Puck, whose arms were being held close to his sides by her father. "What are you talking about? What happened to Quinn?"

Puck swallowed. "Her family found out. They kicked her out of the house."

Rachel exchanged looks with her fathers as LeRoy let go of his handle on Puck.

"Who told you?" LeRoy asked Puck.

"Finn. He heard everything."

Rachel balled her fists, her cheeks turning red. "This is all your fault!" she yelled at Puck, "You decided to let the world know she was pregnant rather than coming to me and telling me what happened. You shouted it from the rooftops and exposed her because you were stupid and jealous. Noah, if anything happens to her or the baby, I will kill you."

Puck had never seen Rachel so furious. Hiram put his arm over his daughter's shoulders.

"I know, okay?" Puck said desperately, "I know, I'm a jerk and she doesn't want me… I just want to find her, please."

Rachel took a deep breath. "I'm going to get my coat."

LeRoy pulled out his cellphone and dialed 911. He had some friends in the police department who could organize a patrol.

"Quinn's probably not far away," said LeRoy, as he got off the phone and Rachel returned from her room with one coat on and one resting in the crook of her elbow, "We should start looking around her neighborhood."

"Which friend of hers lives nearest?" asked Hiram, "She probably went to stay at someone's house."

"I sent a message to everyone in glee club," said Rachel, furiously thumbing at her phone, "So far, only Kurt replied. He doesn't know where she is, but he and his dad are going to help us look."

LeRoy left with Puck in his pick-up truck and Rachel went with Hiram. Rachel's eyes anxiously roamed the streets as the car weaved through the neighborhood. Quinn was alone, probably stunned and terrified. And when Quinn is scared, she goes into attack mode. She puts on her bitch mask and isolates herself from the world. Rachel had realized that a long time ago. Quinn won't be asking for help. And not because of pride but because the world she used to live in has collapsed. She was feeling lost. She wouldn't be looking for a resolution. She would be looking for clarity.

"Church," Rachel exclaimed, turning to her father, "She's at St. Rose."

"How do you-"

"Dad, please, hurry. It's on the corner of North West Street and McKibben."

Hiram gripped the steering wheel and headed toward the church while Rachel practically bounced in her seat.

xxx

**Sunday 01:28 AM**

"Rachel," Quinn gasped before the darkness clouded her vision.

The car braked with a squeal next to St. Rose's Church at the sight of the blonde, collapsed on the steps leading up to the front door.

"Quinn!" Rachel yelled, slamming her hands against the car window, "Oh my God!"

Rachel spilled out of the door with her father following behind, their eyes widening at the sight of blood on pavement. Hiram took out his cellphone and started dialling for paramedics. Rachel ran toward the unconscious blonde and knelt on the sidewalk, her eyes wandering over Quinn's body. The bruise on her face, the marks on her legs and the blood dripping down her thigh, leaving a dark red trail on the ground leading up to her. Rachel slapped her hand over her mouth.

"Dad, she's bleeding," Rachel started to sob in a panic, "Oh God, the baby."

Hiram threw off his wool trench coat and draped it over Quinn's body, kneeling down and checking her pulse.

"The paramedics are on their way," he said urgently.

Rachel leaned closer in to Quinn. "Quinn, can you hear me? Everything's going to be okay. I'm here now. I'm here."

Rachel heard the sound of tires screeching to a halt and looked over her shoulder to see LeRoy and Noah running toward them. Kurt and a few kids from glee club had shown up as well, their eyes bugging out at Quinn's body.

"Rachel…"

Rachel looked down at Quinn's out of focus but slightly open eyes.

"Quinn, it's okay. I'm here. I found you," Rachel said, holding back tears.

"It's a boy," Quinn replied in a hoarse whisper before close her eyes again.

"Quinn? Quinn?! Stay with me, please, Quinn, please. Please, someone help! HELP!"


	7. Chapter 06 - Dancing Through Life

**_Sweetly Wicked_ **

**_Chapter 06 - Dancing Through Life_ **

_When you try your best, but you don't succeed_

_When you get what you want, but not what you need_

_When you feel so tired, but you can't sleep_

_Stuck in reverse_

_And the tears come streaming down your face_

_When you lose something you can't replace_

_When you love someone, but it goes to waste_

_Could it be worse?_

_Lights will guide you home_

_And ignite your bones_

_And I will try, to fix you_

Jonas Moore used to wake up early on the weekends. The habit started when he'd had to rescue his morning paper away from his two Labrador retrievers. A little after seven, he was pruning his garden when he noticed a police car, followed by a black Audi, parked in front of his neighbor's yard. He frowned and turned the hose off, dropping his gardening equipment back into his toolbox. He was the oldest resident of the neighborhood and the least likely to be fooled by appearances. It wasn't a surprise that Russell Fabray would have proved himself to be a serpent. One of the officers walked toward him from the cruiser, accompanied by a man in plainclothes.

"Good day, officer," said Mr. Moore, "Anything I can help you with?"

"Good morning, sir," said the officer, "I'm Agent Dawson. Can I ask you a couple questions?"

Mr. Moore crossed his arms. "If this has something to do with what that bastard did to his own daughter yesterday, I'd be pleased to tell you everything I saw and heard."

Agent Dawson pulled a notebook from his pocket and was poised to start writing. As soon as he did, the men heard shouting from across the road as a cop shoved Russell Fabray into the backseat of a police cruiser. Russell was spewing insults and demanding his lawyer. Some of the neighbors had poked their heads out of their windows or walked outside to see him being hauled away.

"You have no right! I'm one of the most respected men in this town! This is all their fault! Faggots and sinners! That abomination corrupted my daughter!"

The tall man in plainclothes stared at the man being arrested with disdain. Agent Dawson excused himself and led the tall man toward the Fabray house, where Judy Fabray was standing at the front door, staring at her fuming husband being driven away. Mr. Moore watched from his front yard as both men went into the Fabray's home with Judy and came back out, five minutes later, with a black suitcase and a red gym bag.

The men left the neighborhood and Judy Fabray was still at the front door, staring into the road, a red welt on the side of her face. For the rest of the day, Mr. Moore found it difficult to concentrate on his daily tasks. It was near impossible to divert his thoughts to anything other than the ghostly face and the empty stare of Judy Fabray.

xxx

Mercedes stretched on a recliner chair at the Lima Memorial Hospital. She'd spent most of her morning pacing back and forth in the waiting room, but even now, she still felt horribly tense. The image of Quinn's lifeless body in Rachel's arms - the despair that washed over the small brunette - was so shocking to see. It was something that would haunt Mercedes for a long time afterwards. After all, she thought she was witnessing the last moments of a life.

Quinn was out cold on the hospital bed, with Rachel watching her from a chair beside her, holding her hand. Mercedes shook her head. It had all happened so fast. One minute, she was at home, getting ready for bed, and the next, she, her parents, Kurt and Mr. Hummel were searching the streets for Quinn Fabray after Rachel and her dads enlisted their help.

"You should get some sleep." Rachel's voice was low and husky but it woke Mercedes from her trance. The brunette's youthful glow seemed to have disappeared.

"You should rest, too, Rachel," said Mercedes, "I promise to wake you up if she…"

Rachel shook her head. "I'm fine."

Mercedes sighed. She had heard Rachel say the same thing to her parents and some doctors. She had not left Quinn's side from the instant she found the girl in the church's steps. Mercedes just looked back at her cellphone, at the pages she had Googled. _Minor placenta praevia_. It was the doctor's diagnosis. The same fall that caused the girl's injured ankle had caused the bleeding. They wanted Quinn in the hospital for a few days and a few weeks of bedrest at home. The risk to the baby's life was minimal at this point, but anything could still go wrong.

Quinn stirred softly in her bed, whining and figeting. Rachel pressed the button that would summon the nurse and Mercedes' phone buzzed. It was a message from Kurt. He, along with a group of glee clubbers, had wanted to stay with Quinn, but their parents had insisted that they come home. A nurse, followed by LeRoy, who had left to answer a phone call, entered the room.

"I think she's in pain," Rachel told the nurse.

The nurse checked the monitors and devices hooked up to Quinn around the hospital bed. Quinn was still and quiet as the nurse turned to tamper with her IV drip.

"Was she awake?" the nurse asked.

"No, not really, but I can tell by her face."

The nurse looked skeptical but didn't say anything. "I'll talk to the doctor."

She gave a polite smile to LeRoy before leaving the room.

"Hiram is out getting coffee and donuts. He should be here soon," he said to the girls as the nurse walked out.

Mercedes smiled. The cafeteria coffee was un-drinkable.

"Regina and I got in touch with her obstetrician," he told Rachel, "We're going to get Quinn and the baby all the help they need."

"She called him Benjamin," Rachel whispered, her eyes focused on Quinn.

LeRoy's mouth turned down in a frown, his eyes misty. Quinn had woken up briefly in the ambulance, disoriented and horrified by the blood soaking her clothes. Rachel held her as she wailed for them to save her son. To save Benjamin. Quinn's tearful green eyes connected with Rachel's chocolate buttons as the paremedics sedated the blonde.

LeRoy approached his daughter by the hospital bed and laid a heavy hand on her shoulder. He couldn't measure the amount of the pain his daughter must've been in.

"How long until her OB gets here?" asked Rachel.

"Soon. Regina assured me that she wouldn't take more than a half an hour, and that was fifteen minutes ago."

The nurse came back into the room carrying a metal tray with a needle and syringe on it. She administered the medication into Quinn's IV as Rachel watched cautiously.

"She won't feel any more discomfort," the nurse assured her, tapping lightly on the tube, "Dr. Muller got in touch with Dr. Colbin. We're keeping her on a light sedative along with her medication, just for a while. We don't want her going into shock."

"Thank you, Sylvia," said LeRoy, touching the nurse's arm.

"She won't press charges," Rachel mumbled, watching Quinn fall deeper into a peaceful sleep, "He's her father."

"It doesn't matter," said LeRoy, "He'll be convicted for assault against a minor. Social services will be contacted."

"What about her mother?"

LeRoy glanced at Mercedes, who pretending to busily text away.

"She's a little shell-shocked. She hasn't been arrested but she might face charges. She let your father pick up some of Quinn's things, to take to our house. She asked us to call before we came and got the rest."

Rachel looked rigid as she held Quinn's hand tighter in her own. Her tense posture and cold expression made Mercedes look up, her brow buckled. LeRoy rested his hand on his daughter's shoulder once more.

"Everything will be okay."

xxx

_It's warmer here. A pleasant warmth. Like a morning in spring. I could feel it spread through my body, starting with my left hand. Through my face and fluttering through my stomach. It felt good. Like something gentle, protecting me. '_ It's okay. I'm here. I found you.' _Her words were like an echo, but I knew she was near. It was so easy to believe her and give in to the exhaustion that had plagued me since forever._

It's okay.

I'm here.

I found you.

xxx

**One week later**

"Hey, girl. How are you feeling today?" Mercedes loudly announced her presence in Room 430.

"Bored," Quinn sighed, abandoning the TV remote. 300 channels and nothing to watch.

Mercedes laughed and held up a small paper Subway bag that made Quinn's eyes light up.

"To celebrate your last day of medical prison. It's your favorite. Extra bacon and cheddar."

Mercedes passed Quinn the sub, as Quinn stretched out her arms like a little kid on Christmas morning.

"Oh, Mercedes, I think I'm going to cry."

Merecedes chuckled to herself as she placed a peach Fanta and a Subway chocolate chip cookie on the bedside table, next to flowers from glee club and a get well soon card.

"I'm glad to see you so radiant, missy, but I can't take all the credit. Rachel asked me to bring it for you."

Quinn's face went blank midway through a bite of the sandwich. She set it down, swallowing with difficulty.

"Quinn, you should talk to her."

"Please, Mercedes, don't."

Mercedes wrung her hands together and decided to change the subject, but the blonde was now distracted, lost in the events of the previous week. Rachel had been by her side when she'd awoken in her hospital bed, squeezing her hand when she started to panic.

"You're okay. Benjamin is okay, both of you. You'll both be okay. There's nothing to worry about."

Relief spread through Quinn's body as her eyes settled on Rachel's face. The brunette looked exhausted, with dark circles under her eyes and a missing glow. The smile stretched across her face looked forced. It reminded her of how her mother used to look sometimes. She always knew her mother wanted to live a different life. The life she was living - even if it had a perfect exterior - was tiring to keep up with. Judy Fabray was like a caged bird. Trapped in a life she didn't ask for. Quinn didn't want to do the same to Rachel, but their hands intertwined and their eyes locked on each other made Quinn warm.

"You should leave," Quinn said stoically, and regretted it almost immediately.

She almost wished that Rachel hadn't heard her, or ignored her completely, but grim realization spread across her elfin features and she whirled around, running out of the room before her tears could spill on the polished tiles.

A week had passed and Rachel didn't come back. Quinn's heart leapt every time she heard someone walk down the hall, but it was never Rachel. She began to think that she'd made the right decision. She didn't want Rachel to have an obligations. Rachel was destined for places bigger and brighter than Lima, Ohio. Quinn wouldn't be the thing to anchor her down. She loved her too much to see her waste her life away like that. She had to admit to herself, at least, at last, that she did love Rachel. Truly loved her. When she'd collapsed on the steps of the church, Rachel had been the last thing she wanted to see. It was her last prayer, and like a miracle, when she opened her eyes, Rachel was there. Holding Quinn like she was the most fragile and precious gift.

"Girl, are you even listening?"

Quinn blinked at glanced at Mercedes, who's arms were folded over her abdomen. "What? Yes."

"Really? Because you just agreed to sing back-up for Kurt on a Katy Perry song dressed as a peacock."

"I did?"

"Yes. Listen, Quinn-"

Someone interrupted by knocking on the door. Quinn's heart leapt again as her head whirled to the door, only to have her stomach drop in disappointment when she saw that it was Hiram Berry, carrying a small brown bag and smiling gently.

"Girls," he nodded to each of them, "Mercedes, can I speak to Quinn alone for a moment?"

The girls exchanged glances and Quinn nodded.

"Call me if you need me," Mercedes said to Quinn and left the room.

Hiram watched as she left and looked back at Quinn. "She's a good friend, huh?"

Quinn nodded. "Yeah, she is." She smiled a little. "I couldn't have asked for a better one."

Hiram cleared off some snack wrappers on the end table and laid down the paper bag, taking two books out.

"I hope you don't mind," he said, handing them to her, "They were in your bag."

_Alice In Wonderland_ and _Pride and Prejudice_. Quinn ran her fingers over the covers and felt nostalgic. Christmas morning, a few years back, she had found two small packages under the tree. She ripped them open while her father watched from the couch, sipping from his coffee mug.

_"Special editions, for collector's. Only the best for our Quinnie."_

"Is he still in jail?" Quinn asked, barely audible.

"No," Hiram replied quietly.

Quinn had heard from the police that her mother was refusing to testify. There would be a trial later on, but Quinn wasn't sure what she was going to say. She didn't want to think about it. She hadn't heard from either of her parents, but she did hear that the Berrys had collected her things. Hiram furrowed his brow, staring sympathetically at her.

"You're a very well read girl, Quinn," he said, "Your collection made me jealous, actually. Tolstoy, Hemingway, Poe. Advanced for a girl your age. I always tried to get Rachel interested in the classics. She has an appreciation for good writing, but its hard to pull her away from the Barbra Streisand biographies."

Quinn smirked. "Thank you, sir. I did miss my books. _People_ magazines gets tiring after a while. But that's not all you came for, is it?"

Hiram grinned. "Straight forward. I like it. I hope Benjamin acquires that trait. I'd like to see a Berry who doesn't have to use a PowerPoint presentation in every argument," he said, and took a seat at the foot of the bed, "I want you to come live with us. I don't think it's an absurd suggestion, either. You're pregnant with my grandson and we would like to be part of this-"

"Thank you, but Mercedes brother is away at college so they have a spare-"

"Quinn, I insist," he sighed, laying his concerned eyes on her.

Quinn felt a warm flush, like she was being cared for, by a father. God, was she so damaged that the slightest affection from an older man was going to stir up daddy issues?

The first time she saw him was during that oficer's visit. Quinn began to feel cornered and unprotected by his presence, but suddenly Hiram Berry ran a hand through her hair in a protective way, implying that he was there to support her and protect her from all the wounds that that officer hadn't even noticed that he was opening in her chest. After that , whenever he appeared, his strong and gentle posture were always present in every gesture. It only took a week for her to realize that this man was becoming a paternal reference greater than Russell Fabray ever been. And it hurt her even more... and she only knew one way to deal with that kind of pain.

Quinn bit her bottom lip. "And then what? When I have the baby, you'll raise him, and kick me out?"

Hiram looked taken aback but when he spoke his voice was full of kidness. "Quinn, we'd never take the baby away from you. I know it'll probably be hard for you to understand, but you're our family now. We don't abandon family."

Quinn bit down so hard on her bottom lip that she thought she might bleed. She didn't even realize she had begun crying until Hiram had wrapped his arms around her.

"We'll take care of you," he said.

"But Rachel-"

"Nothing happens in our family unless everyone's comfortable with it. Rachel only wants what's best for you and the baby. She just wants to support you."

Quinn pulled back, wiping away her tears.

"You don't have idea what I have done to her."

The man sighed sadly. "Benjamin is a beautiful name."

"Thank you," Quinn sniffed, confused by his sudden change of topic.

"You know, it's a Hebrew name," he said, narrowing his eyes at her, glancing at the cross-shaped pendant around her neck.

"I found it in an old baby book," she explained, trying to sound casual, "It's a nice name."

"I believe it means _son of happiness_ or _the favorite son_ in some definitions, but in Hebrew, it means ' _son of the right hand_ '. The bible says that he was son of Rachel, a woman who was unable to have children until she prayed to God. However, complications during childbirth made Rachel want to name him Benomi - son of pain. But her husband ignored her wishes and named him Benjamin instead. He changed his son's fate just by loving and believing in him."

Quinn's face crumpled and she buried her head in her hands. "She'll lose everything she cares about because of us. She'll regret it. I ruined her life. She shouldn't care about me. I don't deserve her."

"I don't believe that."

"Why?"

"Love isn't about being good enough or deserving each other. Everyone has the ability to love and to be loved. It can't be stopped."

Quinn sobbed harder. "Everything I thought was important means nothing to me now. Everything I fought for… it's all gone. I feel like everything I'm doing, at some point, it just became to meaningless. Like I was putting on a show and realized there was no audience. Like I was dancing through life but not letting anyone come close enough to take my hand. I just destroyed everything I touched, and for what? So I could be good enough? So my parents would have a reason to love me? I shouldn't have to earn their love. They should love me no matter what. But they don't. My own parents don't love me. I just feel so… broken."

Hiram threw his arms over her shoulders and rocked her gently as she sobbed. "It's okay. We're here for you. We're not giving up."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay. I would like to say that I'm really happy about this fic. My Beta and I were thinking about to only post it on another fanfiction web page, but I ended up deciding for upload here too. Hope you guys like it. Be free to leave comments and suggestions. Here or on my tumblr: danaandme.tumblr.com


	8. Chapter 07 - We deserved each other

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In honor to our dearest Dianna's Birthday . Hope you guys enjoy it.

**_Sweetly Wicked_ **

**_Chapter 08 – We deserved each other_ **

Rachel took a deep breath and rolled her eyes as a furious Regina stalked around her office desk growling like a wild cat, her eyes glowing with anger.

"She is simply incapable of act like a rational human being," the therapist glowered, shaking medical reports in one hand as her eyebrows drew together.

In the past few weeks, her small outburts had become annoyingly routine. Regina had been pushing for Quinn to endure psychological counseling to help her deal with recent events. Both Quinn and the Berry family had agreed to it and while they suggested Quinn be given her own therapist, she was most comfortable speaking to Regina. Regina wanted to make sure that Rachel was okay with it, and she was, so the therapist agreed to counsel both girls. The real drama started when Regina contacted Dr. Colbin, Quinn's OB/GYN. Apparantly the two of them had a complicated history. At first, it had been difficult for Rachel to decipher what that could possibly mean, but it was becoming increasingly clear.

"She's not hindering your work. On the contrary, all of the reports and files she had sent to your office were impeccable, and I'm quoting you on that. From what I can tell, the only problem is that she keeps rejecting your invitations for coffee."

"She can never just be gracious. She couldn't have just agreed to meet with me the first time I left the message with her assistant. She knows I hate how stubborn she is."

Rachel growled under her breath. She was having to deal with more drama than she could handle lately.

"With all due respect, I have been trapped in a crazy, blond, emotional rollercoaster in the past few months. I'd really appreciate it if you could forget about this frivolous coffee meeting. I mean, this is _my_ schedule time with _my_ therapist. If it's so important to you that you can't get your job done, just apologize for whatever happened between you two and ask her out on a date up front."

Regina tripped on the rug and leaned against her desk to keep from falling. Rachel rose from where she'd been sitting on the couch and grabbed her handbag, about to leave the office in a huff.

"I- She- We… It's not what you think. We're not… What makes you think I was the one who needs to apologize?"

Rachel sighed. "I really don't have the patience for this. I'm leaving."

Rachel turned to walk out of the room when a tall blond with striking green eyes bumped into her, wearing a crisp white coat with her name embroidered in black on the breast. _Jennifer M. Colbin, M.D._ Another blond carrying a Starbucks. It must have been some sick joke. The brunette looked over her shoulder at her therapist, whose eyes were bulging out at the doctor who'd just arrived.

"You better have some coffee for her, too," Rachel pouted at the tall doctor, "You two need to make nice or I'll be forced to change therapists."

Rachel stormed out, leaving the women alone.

Jennifer smirked and closed the door behind her. "Charming," she muttered.

Regina swallowed hard, taking a deep breath. She found it offputting - infuriating, even - that Jennifer would show up uninvited to her office after rejecting all of her invitations for lunch or coffee.

"Dr. Colbin," she cleared her throat, "I don't recall expecting you today."

"You weren't."

Jennifer set her coffee cup down on the coffee table and took a seat on the couch, casually swinging her arm over the back, her curious green eyes scanning the room.

"We need to talk," she said after a few infinite seconds.

"I imagine we do," Regina nodded, "Good thing you're so skilled at making yourself at home."

Jennifer rolled her eyes as Regina took a seat in her own black leather armchair, positioned in front of the couch, crossing both her legs and arms.

Jennifer smirked. "You haven't changed a bit, you know."

Regina raised an eyebrow. "I can't say the same for you, dear. I admit that Nolan isn't a very dashing surname but you could've at least given your mother the joy of the glory days for the Blanchard's clan."

"Regina, don't. This isn't about us."

"Of course not. There is no _us_. There never was."

"Regina-"

"Dr. Colbin, is there something I can help you with?"

Jennifer sighed. "It's about Rachel. I wanted to talk to you about her condition."

"She's a healthy young woman. What bothers you about her 'condition'?"

"I'm sure she's perfectly healthy, Regina, but she's a parent to Quinn's child. I'd like to run some tests."

Regina uncrossed and crossed her legs, waiting for Jennifer to elaborate.

"I'm not implying anything," Jennifer frowned, "But there are genetic factors that resulted in her-"

"If you're going to suggest that Rachel has some kind of abnormality that would pose a _danger_ to her and Quinn's child, I will have to question just what it is that you learned at medical school, _doctor_."

Jennifer pursed her lips. "I'm not trying to offend you or Rachel," she said, her voice low and calm, "I think you need to put your personal feelings about me and realize that if there is a chance that Benjamin could inherit Rachel's… condition, then she and Quinn have a right to know."

Regina tapped her foot against the floor and as she considered. "Did you notice anything in his development that would suggest the possibility?" she asked.

"No, but you said they only found out about Rachel after the seventh month. Then it was too late for Shelby-"

"It was too late for Shelby to have Rachel aborted," Regina quickly finished her sentence, her eyes fiery, "Are you suggesting that if Quinn finds out that Benjamin is like Rachel, she won't want him anymore?"

"No," Jennifer shook her head, "I don't think so. But, she still has a right to be made aware of her options. They should also be ready to find out if their baby might need special care. Rachel was lucky enough to not need surgical intervention, but there are countless posibilities. There could be defects in the urinary tracts, malformation in the internal organs, blood circulation problems."

Regina blinked, seriously considering Jennifer's perspective. "I could talk to the Berrys. We could schedule-"

"Coffee, perhaps," Jennifer teased.

"An appointment with the both of us, in this office."

Jennifer nodded quietly and bit her lip. "Henry misses you," she said, "I thought he would forget, but he hasn't. Apparently your apple pies made a lasting impression."

"How is Thursday, two o'clock?" asked Regina, quickly lifting herself from her seat and walking over to her desk, picking her agenda off of the surface and pretending to review it.

"I'll be there."

The blonde stood and headed for the office door.

"Don't forget your coffee, Colbin," said Regina, glancing at the cup on the coffee table. Jennifer turned, a sad smile on her face.

"It's hot chocolate with cinnamon," she said absently, "It's for you. For old times sake."

Regina eyed the beverage as the doctor left the office, leaving the door open behind her. She'd hadn't had a cup of cinnamon hot chocolate in twelve years.

xxx

Rachel could feel Regina's hardened gaze against her back as she left the building and headed for the parking lot. Her little outburst would warrant a lecture the next time the doctor was invited for dinner, but Rachel couldn't care about that right now. Dealing with a reprimand from Regina or her fathers was cake compared to her current situation. She was beginning to feel like she'd been sent to another dimension.

Of course, there was having a child at sixteen. Having a child with the most popular girl in school. The prettiest girl Rachel had ever seen. Someone she'd fallen hopelessly in love with. Now that Quinn was living in her house, it was all the more difficult to ignore those feelings. As if that weren't enough, the only other person she could turn to was in the midst of an extremely unexpected disagreement with Quinn's own obstetrician.

On top of that, Rachel had had to deal with Finn Hudson's romantic overtures. The boy followed her everywhere around school like a lovesick puppy.

_"_ _Quinn betrayed us, Rachel. I know it wasn't your fault. And you need to think about your future. You and me, we could be the greatest power couple in glee club."_

_"_ _You and I, Finn. You and I,"_ she corrected him, but he took it as encouragement, so she stopped talking to him altogether.

There was also Puck, who seemed to have gone under a personality reassignment surgery and was acting like a completely different person. He ignored her completely, avoiding her at all costs. For weeks, the halls of McKinley High had been akin to a paralell universe. Rachel was fully prepared for aliens to land in the middle of a glee club rehearsal and abduct her talent.

There were no slushies, outright threats, nasty nicknames or people throwing her belongings in dumpsters. She'd just been getting stranged looks from students who had otherwise been unaware of her existence before. What bothered her most were the teachers. They looked at her with pity dripping from their misty eyes. On several occasions, she'd been offered extensions on assignments or heartfelt-ly asked if she needed homework help.

_"_ _I'm not the pregnant one and even if I were, it wouldn't affect my ability to do geometry."_

No matter how much she complained, the different treatment didn't stop. Because of Ms. Pillsbury's inteference, Principal Figgins had orchestrated a lecture on family planning and the concept of 'the new normal' that was sweeping America. For God's sake, even Sue Sylvester had quit picking on her. Surely she'd been hallucinating when she thought she saw a Cheerio _smile_ at her. Brittany had invited her to share lunch with them and Santana… _Santana Lopez_ was standing right beside her car with a wide Cheshire cat smile on her face.

"What the Hell is this?" Rachel asked suspiciously as she approached her car, Santana leaning idly against the driver door.

"Damn, Berry, can't you just say hello like a normal person?"

"What are you doing?"

"Wow, I can't wait by your car so we can have a friendly chat?"

"A friendly chat? Santana, why would the word friendly be used in reference to you? You know what, forget it. I'm not in the mood today."

Santana smirked. "Well, well, well. You've got balls, Berry. Figuratively and literally. Maybe if you had shown this side of you sooner, Quinn wouldn't have held onto her _holy grail_ for so long."

"Santana-"

"Chill out, Berry. I just want to make something clear, okay? Brittany invited you to lunch _again_ today, like she'd been doing everyday for weeks. Before that pretty little dwarf brain of yours can think up another way to get out of it tomorrow, I should warn you that Brittany gets what she wants. And I help her get it."

Rachel clenched her jaw. "This is not happening."

"Oh, yes, it is. Now come on, I'm hungry. You can hold off on venting to your therapist for one day. How many problems can you possibly have?"

Santana pushed herself off of the car and walked over to the passenger side, swinging open the door and getting in.

Rachel balked as Santana rolled down the window. "Wait a minute. Where do you think we're going?"

"I just told you, I'm hungry. Breadstix doesn't open for lunch so I was thinking Taco Bell at the Lima Mall."

Rachel stared at her, perplexed.

"Relax, Berry," Santana scoffed, "The lingerie place is having a liquidation on maternity wear. I hope you have your credit card with you."

"I'm not going to the mall with you, Santana," she said, stubbornly refusing to get into the car, "You've had your friendly chat. Just leave me alone."

"You know, Hobbs, I've always known that you were an annoying, noisy, stubborn little ingenue but you're really exceeding expectations. I said we would have a friendly chat. The chat part is over, so now comes the _friendly_."

xxx

"I brought you some iced tea and cookies," LeRoy smiled, edging into Rachel's old bedroom, smiling at both Quinn and Mercedes as they sat atop the bed.

Rachel had given her bedroom to Quinn because it was an en suite. The Berrys had all made sure Quinn was at her most comfortable, even hiring a nurse to help her bathe with a cast. At first, Quinn felt self-conscious with all of the affection, but it only forced Hiram and LeRoy to spout the same speech about not wanting her to think she was an inconvience. " _You're family!"_

"Are they vegan?" Quinn asked with a smile.

LeRoy raised an eyebrow. "Are they supposed to be? Hiram was excited that he wouldn't be the only carnivore at the table."

Quinn feigned a pout. "You have your grandson to thank."

"Wait, you're a vegan now?" Mercedes asked skeptically.

"I wasn't until last week. Now even the smell of meat makes my stomach turn."

"Well, I assure these cookies are animal by-product free," said LeRoy, "Enjoy. I'll leave you girls to it."

"Thanks, Mr. B," said Mercedes.

"Thank you, LeRoy."

LeRoy swept back out of the room as Quinn bit into a soft cookie.

"Morning sickness is that bad, huh?" asked Mercedes.

"The _'How to Maintain a Healthy Vegan Diet During Pregnancy'_ pamphlet that magically appeared at my bedside didn't help. If Rachel was anymore controlling about this whole thing, I could claim self defense and rip her head off."

"What did you expect?"

Quinn squeezed her eyes closed. "The whole thing only served to scar me with images of abused animals and slaughterhouse horrors."

Mercedes snorted. "Why did you read it?"

"I don't know, I couldn't help myself. It hooked me in with a cute little calf running through a field."

Mercedes raised an eyebrow. "What happened to it on the next page?"

"It became a cheeseburger," Quinn said, her eyes practically welling up with tears.

Mercedes frowned and patted her friend on the shoulder as Quinn's pained frowned marred her delicate features. Suddenly, her face crumpled into frustrated sadness and she punched one of her pillows.

"Damn these mood swings! I could kill Rachel!" she snapped.

"Oh God," Mercedes couldn't help but laugh.

"Oh, yes, very funny. Laugh at my pain!" Quinn yelled and screamed into a pillow.

xxx

Rachel parked the car, killed the engine and let her head thud against the steering wheel. Someone knocked on the window and she lifted her head to see Kurt staring back at her from outside the vehicle, in the Berrys' driveway. She sighed and opened her door, getting out of the car.

"Rough day?" he asked.

"You have no idea," she said, turning to the backseats to unload a horde of shopping bags. She collected more than half of the bags in her arms and lugged them onto the front porch. Kurt narrowed his eyes at the name-brand packages before frolicking onto the porch to hold the door open for his friend.

"Wait a second," he said, staring at the red beret on her head, "What did you do to your hair?"

Quickly, he pulled the cap off of her head to reveal her hair hanging down in wavy tendrils, a lighter brown than before, the ends dipped in a warm honey color. Rachel huffed.

"She made me do it."

Kurt looked blankly at her. "Santana Lopez. She appeared out of nowhere and practically kidnapped me. She forced me to go shopping with her. It was madness! Suddenly she was throwing designer shoes, maternity wear and makeup in my face, and dragging me into her hair stylist with a picture of Jessica Alba, telling them to give me the honey dip dye!"

"Wow. If I'd known I just had to use force, I would have done it a long time ago."

"Kurt," Rachel frowned.

"Rachel, have you looked in the mirror? Save for the caribou-print sweater, you look amazing. Remind me to thank Santana. I don't know why she did this, but she has good taste. You have to let me see what's inside these bags."

Kurt couldn't help his enthusiasm. He loved makeovers. For months, he'd been hoping to give Rachel's wardrobe and extreme intervention so he could do away with any trace of argyle. He didn't trust Santana's motives but he had to admit she'd done a wonderful job. Still, Rachel didn't seem very happy about it.

"Was it that bad?" he asked.

Rachel dropped her bags and sighed sadly. "No. I mean, she's completely uncordial and insists on speaking in a mix of English and Spanish, but for the first time in my life, I just felt like a normal teenager at the mall.

Kurt frowned sheepishly. For years, he'd been ignoring all the bullying that Rachel went through and only really decided to strengthen their friendship after the horrible night they'd shared when they found Quinn on the church steps. Kurt leaned in and wrapped the girl in a hug. He promised himself to be a better friend.

xxx

"Pastor Thomas said that you were thinking of volunteering on Saturdays," Mercedes mentioned, smiling encouragingly.

Quinn nodded politely, sipping the remnants of her tea. "We talked about it yesterday. I figured it'd be nice to keep myself busy since, obviously, I can't be on the Cheerios anymore."

Mercedes reached over and squeezed the girl's milky hand. "It'll be great."

Two knocks on the bedroom door preceeded a singsong hello as Kurt swept in ceremoniously and plopped onto the edge of the bed, greeting Mercedes with a sophisticated air-kiss. "Okay, I'm here. Let the gossip commence. What's new, ladies?"

"Quinn will be back to school next week," Mercedes announced cheerfully.

"That's great! Right in time to see us at Sectionals."

"I thought I might be able to join you guys on stage," Quinn said sadly, "But, that's a no."

"Don't worry. There's always next year. You and your baby are the most important thing right now," Kurt assured her.

"I know," Quinn smiled gratefully, "I'll be cheering you guys on."

Mercedes eyed Kurt's cardigan as he ran a hand through his hair, and she brushed some dense white powder off of his shoulder.

"Were you baking?" she asked, flour residue on her fingers.

"Oh, that was Rachel. She's making cookies and so on for tonight. Actually, I was supposed to haul you gals down to help, but you seemed to be deep in discussion."

"What's happening tonight that requires cookies, and so on?" Quinn asked with thinly veiled suspicion masquerading as indifferent curiosity.

"It's Diva Night," Kurt smiled.

"Come again?"

"It was Kurt's idea," said Mercedes, "As McKinley's biggest divas, we meet up once a month, watch movies, gossip, eat junk food."

"Just the three of you?" asked Quinn, "The three McKinley divas?"

"Uh huh," Kurt nodded.

Quinn fell silent and the other two shared a look.

"Q? What's up?" asked Mercedes.

Mercedes eyebrows raised as Quinn's chin trembled and her eyes brightened with unshed tears.

"Q-Quinn?" Kurt stammered, "A-Are you…?"

Suddenly, the trembling stopped and Quinn screwed up her increasingly reddening face, her eyes crinkling as she let out a squeeling sob.

"What do we do?!" Kurt panicked, horrified by the former cheerleader's tears.

"Quinn, what's wrong?!" asked Mercedes, "We would've invited you to join us, we just didn't know you'd be into it."

"Yeah!" Kurt encouraged, "We thought you'd think we were lame."

"I don't think it's lame," Quinn sobbed, "I want vegan cookies and mindless gossip as much as any other girl."

"Oh, God," Kurt mumbled. He couldn't believe his eyes. Quinn Fabray, of all people, sniffling and sobbing out sloppy tears. Pregnancy did drastic things to a person.

"We would love it if you joined us," he said quickly, "You're just as much a diva as we are. Not to mention, a hot mama."

Quinn stopped crying and furrowed her brow. "What?"

"Well, that's what Puck's been calling you now. Hot mama."

Kurt started to panic as Quinn's expression turned to anger. Mercedes just shook her head.

"Hot… mama?

"Oh boy," Mercedes braced herself.

Quinn clenched her jaw. "I think I'll just stay in my room tonight."

"Oh, no," Mercedes shook her head.

"No, I don't want to do Diva Night anymore," Quinn said, stubbornly folding her arms.

"You're going to miss the _popcorn_ ," Kurt singsonged.

"I don't care."

"For the love of God, Quinn, don't be so difficult!" he snapped, rolling his eyes.

Mercedes eyes widened at Kurt as Quinn started to tear up again.

"Hey, can you smell that?" Mercedes asked quickly, "I think Rachel just took the cookies out of the oven. They smell delicious."

Quinn blinked, her tears seeming to subside. "She did?"

"Uh huh," the other two said in unison.

"I'll go get some!" said Kurt, running to the door, relieved to leave the room.

xxx

The foursome decided that Diva Night would commence in Rachel's old room – for Quinn's comfort. Since she still had difficulties to walk around with the cast.

Kurt pushed the bedroom door open, his hands full with a bowl of salty popcorn and a tray of vegan chocolate chip cookies. Rachel came in behind him carrying four mugs of root beer.

"What is that thing on your head?" asked Mercedes, eyeing the bizarre floral shower cap that Rachel had tucked all of her hair into.

Quinn silently narrowed her eyes at the small girl, equally curious.

"I was baking, Mercedes," Rachel said flippantly, "Hygiene is important."

Mercedes wrinkled her nose. "Girl, take that off."

Kurt sighed. "Rachel, come on."

Rachel pouted and tugged the shower cap off, revealing her glossy, highlighted haircut.

Mercedes looked impress. "Explain," she said simply.

Rachel met Quinn's darkening eyes, as the blonde stared slack-jawed back at her.

Rachel cleared her throat. "Santana," she said, noticing Quinn's eyes narrow at the very word, "She convinced me to get a new hairstyle. It's not a big deal. Now, I've narrowed down our movie selection."

Mercedes was about to argue, but Kurt elbowed her, discouraging. Quinn pursed her lips, unhappy with the news that Santana had been fraternizing with Rachel in any manor, much less convincing her to get a blow out at her stylist's. She grabbed the tray of cookies from Kurt and started to angrily chow down.

"No musicals this time," Mercedes begged, looking over Rachel's DVD selection.

"I'm going to barf if we have to watch Funny Girl," Quinn grumbled.

Kurt widened his eyes. "If she barfs, I barf. Quinn picks the movie!"

Witness Rachel struggling with the urge to stomp her foot wasn't helping to take away the jealousy that was corroding her heart, but it didn't stop a devious giggle from make an appearance in her face, at least she felt a little revenged.

xxx

"Who was that on the phone?" asked LeRoy, approaching his husband in the kitchen, the smell of chocolate chips still hanging in the air.

"It was Regina," said Hiram, "She says there are some tests she wants Quinn to take. We're going to meet her on Thursday to discuss the details. Apparently Dr. Colbin suggested it."

LeRoy looked concerned. "Do you think the tests could have something to do with Rachel's genes?"

Hiram frowned and nodded. "I think it might."

LeRoy was about to ask another question when they heard a scream ripple through the air.

xxx

Kurt had regretted giving Quinn full power over the movie selection when she had produced an uncut DVD of 'The Grudge' from her own small collection. She gave Rachel a taunting smirk as they slid the DVD in and started to watch. Nobody would have guessed that Quinn was a Japanese horror movie kind of girl.

Kurt had clung to Mercedes as the movie started. On her other side was Quinn and on _her_ other side was Rachel, who wasn't ecstatic about the seating arrangement. She'd been avoiding spending any one on one time with Quinn since the day she asked her to leave the hospital room. She wanted to take care of the girl but didn't want to sit through a conversation about their complicated relationship. She pulled her eyebrows together and stared at the floor, lost in thought about her own complicated feelings for Quinn, as the others trembled and yipped during spooky parts of the movie. Part of her was still deeply mad about the way the girl jerked around Rachel's feelings, and then part of her felt guilty for asking so much, emotionally, of such a fragile person.

She snapped out of her thoughts when something jumped at the TV screen and Quinn screamed, throwing herself against Rachel, blubbering, "Okay, okay, turn it off! We can watch Funny Girl! We can watch freaking Mary Poppins, I don't care!"

Mere seconds later, her fathers ran into the room. "What's going on?!" LeRoy demanded.

Quinn released Rachel from her bear hug, only after Leroy and Hiram ensure her that they would burn the DVD.A few hours later, Mercedes and Kurt bid them farewell after sitting through a viewing of Funny Girl. Long after Rachel's fathers had gone to bed, Quinn had used her trembling chin and her paranoia of Japanese ghost girls lurking the halls to goad Rachel into sleeping in her bedroom. Before Rachel knew what she was agreeing to, she was already lying in her old bed with Quinn snuggling up to her.

She didn't know what this meant. She certainly didn't know how she was supposed to feel about it. It was even more difficult to comprehend what Quinn was thinking. It was an eternal game of musical chairs. When the song stopped, she never had a place to sit. Rachel never felt safe and yet she knew she wouldn't want to be anywhere else.

"Thank you for staying," said Quinn, after Rachel had assumed she'd fallen asleep.

"It's okay," said Rachel, "I just want you to be comfortable. You are, aren't you?"

"Y-Yeah, of course I am. Yeah."

As Quinn snuggled closer, Rachel could feel her small baby bump protruding from her abdomen. She wondered if Quinn would be happy once the baby was born. She wondered if she would want to take care of the baby or resume her old life. Would she abandon them? What would she do if Benjamin was anything like Rachel? If he were different, would Quinn still love him or would she reject him just like Rachel's biological mother had rejected her?

Rachel had nestled in closer to Quinn without realizing it, wrapping her arms around the girl. She so badly wanted her to give them a chance. The illusion of a happy ending taunted Rachel, who tried so hard to be realistic. She didn't want to fool herself, it couldn't be such thing like _'We deserved each other'_ thought in her mind. She wasn't sure she'd be enough for that girl under any circumstances.

"Are you awake?" asked Quinn.

"Yeah," Rachel replied, "Do you want me do go?"

"No, I… Can you sing for _us_? I can't sleep and maybe it help." she asked shyly.

Rachel's heart fluttered at the word _'us'_.

"What do you want me to sing?"

"I don't know. You choose."

"Is _Twinkle Twinkle Little Star_ still your favorite?"

Quinn smiled. "You remember that?"

"Of course I do."

Quinn blushed. "Can you sing it?"

"I would love to."

Quinn snuggled closer as Rachel sang the lullaby. For the first time in her life, she felt whole.


	9. Chapter 08 - Popular

 

**_Sweetly Wicked_ **

**_Chapter 08 – Popular_ **

 

"Don't be so dramatic, Lee, the pig is already dead," Hiram rolled his eyes, adding another strip of bacon to the bubbling grease of his newly-bought frying pan.

"I resent that," said LeRoy, crossing his arms, "And the pig wouldn't have to have died if it weren't for-"

LeRoy was cut off when the men heard a thumping through the living room as Quinn bolted through the door, fast as an arrow, and made her way upstairs. As her throat seized up, she wanted nothing more than to disappear off the face of the earth. She closed her bedroom door and let the tears flow freely. She threw herself onto the bed and stuck her face in a pillow, screaming into the soft padding.

In the hallway, Hiram and LeRoy stood facing Quinn's bedroom, their brows buckled with worry.

"I'll talk to her," said LeRoy, biting the nail of his thumb.

"I don't think that's the best idea. She's not like Rachel," said Hiram, squeezing his husband's shoulder, "When Quinn's going through something, she needs time. We have to wait for her to come to us."

"How am I supposed to stand here pretending that nothing is happening when she's so upset? She's been through so much already."

"I understand, LeRoy, but we won't be doing Quinn any favors by trying to coax her into telling us what's wrong. She's very delicate right now and she needs to build trust on her own terms."

LeRoy was staring at the door with a determined look on his face that made Hiram's stomach knot with anxiety. Luckily, the doorbell interrupted them. The men exchanged glances and LeRoy smirked.

"Literally saved by the bell."

He headed downstairs and Hiram followed with haste. He didn't want to admit it, but he was just as eager to open Quinn's door and demand to know what had happened to make her so upset. But he knew deep down that that would only make Quinn retreat into herself even more. He wanted her so badly to be able to open up to them.

LeRoy opened the front door and to his surprise, Noah Puckerman was standing on the front porch, nervously twirling a small bouquet of white daisies in his hands.

"Noah?" LeRoy raised an eyebrow and glanced at his watch, wondering whether or not the boy should still be in school. He cleared his throat and asked, "How can I help you?"

"Good afternoon, Mr. and Mr. Berry," Puck said, unusually formal, "Is Quinn home?"

"Can I ask what this is about?" asked Hiram, sidling up behind his husband, wondering if Puck had something to do with Quinn's sudden outburst of emotion.

Puck swallowed hard and glanced away, before lifting his chin and straightening his posture. "I just need to speak to Quinn. Alone."

"You have nothing to say to her, Noah."

All eyes focused on Rachel as she appeared on the porch behind the boy with a hardened expression.

ONE YEAR EARLIER

It was the beginning of football season, freshman year. Quinn threw her pom-poms up during a sequence of small jumps. Miraculously, the Titans were winning and the Cheerios were screaming in victory. Sheila Fisher, Amber Prime and Isabella Milano - three of the most skilled seniors of the cheerleading squad - caught Quinn's feet and tossed her into the air. Quinn leapt into the air and spread her legs in a flashy display of the splits, making the crowd 'ooh' and cheer. Sheila, Amber and Isabella caught her with big smiles on their faces. They had been good friends and loyal followers of Francine Fabray, the former head cheerleader.

Francine had been their malevolent leader, hiking up their reputations to Queen Bee status and leaving them behind in her legacy of pristine popularity. Now that Francine had graduated and the girls were seniors, it was time for them to leave their own legacy, and who better than Francine's little sister? They were now on a mission to train Quinn as the next Queen Bee of William McKinley. And judging by the satisfaction on Coach Sylvester's face, they were doing a good job.

Sheila, the current head cheerleader, pushed Quinn into another small sequence off round-offs and double jumps. With only a few seconds left in the game, the Titans were going to win. Quinn trotted to the edge of the field, wildly shaking her pom-poms. The countdown ended and the Titans began jogging toward the cheerleaders to join in their yells of victory. Before Quinn knew what was happening, Finn Hudson, the team's newest player, grabbed her by the waist and spun her around in the air with a wide smile on his face.

Quinn giggled as she spun around in his arms. He brought her back down into a bear hug and she nestled her face into his neck, her feet still dangling above the ground. Sheila and Amber gave each other sly smiles. The perfect addition to Quinn's flawless legacy would be a cute jock boyfriend who was a shoo-in for quarterback.

That night, when the Cheerios had left the locker room and were shuffling out of their rival high school toward the bus. Finn was waiting for her outside of the entrance, his duffel bag slung over his shoulder. He stuttered a hello and asked if he could walk her to the bus. She smiled at his adorable dorkiness and accepted the invitation, just as Sheila had told her to. Finn took her gym bag and carried it alongside her toward the bus.

A few meters away from the bus, Noah Puckerman leaned against a chain-link fence and watched Finn offer his jacket to Quinn, who was shivering in the cool night air. He frowned, annoyed. This was the first game he'd attended after transferring to McKinley. He hated football - he'd always preferred swimming. He thought soaring through warm water was better than palling around with a bunch of sweaty dudes.

Across the parking lot, Quinn laughed heartily at something Finn said. Noah crossed his arms and scanned his surroundings for Coach Tanaka. He decided then and there that he would get a spot on the team, whatever it took. He would forget swimming for that smile. For her smile, he would win every game. Quinn Fabray was the prettiest girl he'd ever seen.

PRESENT DAY

"Did you see that whole thing before lunch?" a redhead asked, splashing water over her face in the girls' bathroom sink.

"Shelly said that if it weren't for Santana Lopez, it would've been a lot worse. Did any of you see Quinn Fabray running away?" asked a girl with braces.

"I didn't see her there, but Jew-Fro's blog says she saw everything."

A girl with a jagged haircut emerged from a stall and chimed in. "I heard that no-one's seen her since."

"Who would imagine that Ice Queen Fabray could be so… mousy," the redhead said with glee, adjusting her thick-framed glasses.

"She definitely didn't see it coming!" one of them cackled as the gaggle of girls left the restroom, practically arm-in-arm.

Once the room was quiet and empty, one of the stall doors opened and Quinn walked out, spreading her palms against the sink counter and staring at her reflection in the mirror.

"Ice Queen Fabray," she said spitefully, staring at her own red-rimmed eyes, "Who were you kidding?"

EARLIER THAT MORNING

Quinn was snuggled next to Rachel's warm, small body. Since their impromptu Diva Night, she had expertly improved her excuses and little white lies constructed to get the brunette to keep her company at night. Nightmares, insomnia, mysterious illness, irrational fears; the reasons varied in credibility throughout the week leading up to Quinn's return to school, but the simple truth was that after that night, it was impossible to sleep without Rachel in arm's reach.

Rachel murmured softly and nuzzled into Quinn's neck. Quinn sighed happily at the feeling of Rachel's arms around her waist, her soft and nimble hands caressing the blonde's small, protruding belly. Despite being the taller of the two, Quinn was always the little spoon.

It had been strange to be held this way by Finn in the past. She had felt that the embrace was something extremely intimate and became awkward and uncomfortable when she imagined that part of his body, cosying and stiffening next to her. But feeling Rachel's breath on her neck, her arms wrapped around her, that part of her body cosying and stiffening next to Quinn - it had become a kind of intimacy that was dangerously addictive.

The sun's first light was breaking through the room as it spilled through cracks in the curtains. The clock on her nightstand read 5:48 a.m. In a few minutes, the alarm would buzz and Rachel would leave to start her morning routine before school. It had become Quinn's habit to wake up just moments before the alarm clock sounded so she could savour her last few moments in bed with Rachel. But today was different.

Today was the day Quinn Fabray went back to school. Her stomach was still small enough that it didn't attract much attention, but everyone at McKinley already knew she was approximately five months pregnant with Rachel's baby. Not just that, but that she'd been kicked out of her home by her own father and was now living with the Berrys, and that Sue Sylvester had excommunicated her from the Cheerios.

She had missed three weeks of school and in that time, everything had changed. She could never be head cheerleader again. She had officially lost everything she once knew. Except for glee club, she supposed. With the exception of Santana, Finn and Puck, all of the other glee clubbers had made a point of visiting her and sending Get Well cards, cheerful text messages and even helping Rachel collect assignments and notes for Quinn in classes that they didn't share.

Thanks to Mercedes, Kurt, and even Tina, Quinn knew almost everything that had happened at the school since she'd been away. During one of Brittany's brief visits, supervised by Kurt and Mercedes, she suspected they were trying to cover something up by making sure the ditzy blonde didn't spill any new information. But Quinn soon learned that they were trying to save her from a bad rumor. She decided not to think about it and focus on feeling better.

The glee club had performed at Sectionals last weekend and Quinn had to settle for watching them with the rest of the audience. She was disappointed about being replaced with Jacob Ben Israel but squealed with happiness at the club's victory. Her joy was a little bittersweet when she considered that Finn had been the night's hero, but her mood vastly improved with Rachel said goodnight to their classmates, claiming she'd prefer to return to Lima with her dads rather than take the school bus with the rest of the club. The brunette had fallen asleep on Quinn's shoulder when they were halfway home.

The alarm beeped, jarringly loud. Rachel's eyes snapped open and she reached over Quinn to slam a hand down on the Alarm Off button.

"Were you already awake?" she asked the blonde, her voice weak and feathery with sleep.

"Yeah," Quinn nodded.

Rachel sat up and rubbed her eyes before gazing curiously down at the girl. "Scared?"

"I'm scared," said a twelve-year-old Quinn, hugging a pillow and cowering on her sister's mattress.

"Quinnie, don't get so upset," Francine sat up in bed, trying to calm her sister.

"No, Frannie, I don't want to do this. I'm not… she… she doesn't," Quinn sobbed uncontrollably.

Frannie pulled the smaller girl back by her shoulders and held onto her fragile body. She ran her hand through her sister's golden hair, turning her sobbing into whimpers.

"Quinn, you're too young to understand how the world works. Some people were born lucky and some people were born… wrong. You're one of the good ones. We come from a good family. Everyone knows our father. Our mother was the head cheerleader and a two time prom queen. I'm following in her footsteps. And so will you."

Quinn sniffled. "Dad says that God hates her. But then why would he let her be born that way? She never did anything wrong. She never fought back," she said, pulling back to look into her sister's green eyes, "I made her cry again. She was hiding in the girls' bathroom… She's always trying to hide but I know where she goes. I felt so sick, Frannie. She doesn't deserve it. Why do I have to be like this?"

Frannie sighed. "Because, Quinn. You come from a good family. If you don't… If you forget about everything you're supposed to be and end up making friends with this girl, you'll just embarrass everyone. Look on the bright side, Quinnie. You're almost destined to be the most popular girl in high school, just like Mom and me. It doesn't matter if you have to step on a couple of freaks to get there. I'm saying this because I love you, Quinn. You can't coast along in this house, not once I'm in college. Because then you'll be the only one here and Dad will expect certain things from you. He's going to expect you to make the right friends and date the right boy and get good grades and be popular and yeah, sometimes it will feel overwhelming, but it's for the best. He just wants the best for you, Quinnie, and so do I."

"No," Quinn answered sharply.

Rachel blinked. "Okay. I better go," Rachel sighed, and untangled herself from the sheets.

"No, Rachel, I didn't mean to-"

"Don't worry about it. I need to start my morning routine."

As Rachel pulled away, Quinn sat up and clutched the girl's arm.

"Please, don't go," she said earnestly.

Rachel froze in place, staring back into Quinn's seemingly fragile, hazel eyes. Quinn slowly let go of her arm and set her fingertips on Rachel's pink cheeks.

"I didn't mean to snap."

Rachel felt her face tingle under Quinn's fingers. She didn't know what she was doing when the gap between them closed and their lips met in a soft kiss. Rachel leaned back into the bed and tangled her arm around Quinn while the blonde whispered her name against her mouth. They were rustling against the mattress, the sheets in a tangle at their feet. The need to embrace Rachel's arms, mouth, body, was overwhelming. Quinn felt her whole body burn. She was more than just turned on. She needed more than just sex. For the first time, she felt an ineffable desire to be connected to every part of Rachel.

Her eyes opened wide when she remembered her sister's words. How Frannie had talked her out of a friendship with Rachel and into a torturous relationship of bully and victim. Clearly Frannie saw something in Quinn that even Quinn couldn't see, and tried to eradicate it, so she could live up to their family's expectations and more importantly, to protect her from their father.

"Rachel…" Quinn whispered, her fingers weaved through the brunette's chestnut hair. She tugged down on her tresses and pulled her in closer.

She loved Rachel, she knew that now, but like the strawberry-shaped eraser hidden at the bottom of her jewelry box, she had stowed away her feelings where no-one could see. It was too late to keep denying it now.

Quinn had done everything wrong. Hiding your true self may have worked for Frannie - she got everything she wanted - but it wasn't working for Quinn. Frannie had grown so accustomed to achieving perfection in order to please their father that she thought Quinn's only chance at survival was to do the same. But now, after nearly a month with the Berrys, Quinn realized their was no reason to wear a mask. There were no looks of stern disapproval when she laughed too loud at a Saturday morning cartoon or said something silly during a discussion at dinner.

She didn't need to take Bible verses literally to be a good Christian. She could even question her faith, ask intelligent questions about the life she's supposed to lead, without worrying about being doomed to Hell. And, especially from watching Hiram and LeRoy, she'd finally come to the belief that God would not punish her for being in love. Before meeting them, she didn't even know what it looked like to be in love.

She wanted Rachel to look her like Rachel's fathers looked at each other. She needed it. Rachel's hands roamed over her body while Quinn's heart thudded wildly in her chest. Rachel's small hands were so gentle that it gave Quinn the purest hope that the girl would truly love her back. But even now, as they kissed, Quinn knew there was no guarantee. Just because they were having a child didn't mean they would be a happy family. Quinn wondered if she was still doing everything wrong.

"Stop," said Quinn, pulling away abruptly.

Rachel blinked at her, taken aback.

She wanted to do this right. The only time she and Rachel had really been happy and at ease together was during sex. But Quinn didn't want to silence the words brimming inside of her. She opened her mouth, unsure of herself, wondering if they would sound sincere enough. If Quinn told her she loved her, would Rachel still see the cold bitch who made her life a living hell?

"Did I hurt you?" Rachel asked cautiously, panic rising as Quinn's eyes welled up with tears.

"No," said Quinn, her voice heavy. She hadn't even realize she'd begun crying. She couldn't find the words to explain why. There she was, the love of her life, right in front of her, and she knew she didn't deserve her. If Rachel didn't return Quinn's feeling - and after all she's put her through, how could she? - it would just kill her.

Rachel instinctively put her arm around Quinn to comfort her and was thankful when Quinn didn't push her away. Quinn buried her face in Rachel's neck and made the brunette's heart swell. A soft knock at the door interrupted them and they girls heard LeRoy say from the other side, "Just want to remind you that Quinn has a blood test this morning before school. Hiram will be waiting for you downstairs, honey."

Quinn pulled away from Rachel and wiped her eyes with the back of her wrist as LeRoy's footsteps echoed back down the hall. The brunette watched her walk away to the bathroom and close the door behind her.

FRESHMAN YEAR

Quinn walked down the halls with her hands on her hips, Amber and Sheila flanking her either side, glaring down anyone in her way. The blonde had become McKinley's new It Girl. She'd been crowned the youngest head cheerleader in McKinley history and like any new queen, she needed to impose her will on her court. Quinn's eyes flickered when she spotted Rachel Berry down the hall near a drinking fountain, talking to a blond girl.

"RuPaul, making friends already?" Quinn's voice tinkled, the other Cheerios giggling behind her.

Rachel looked surprised for a moment before scowling at Quinn with disdain. The blond beside her giggled awkwardly and stuck out her hand, apparently misreading the situation.

"Hi, I'm Liz. My family just moved here from Atlanta."

"Who the Hell asked?" Sheila challenged. Amber barked out an astonished laugh at the new girl. Liz dripped her smile and cowered beside Rachel, realizing the mistake she'd made in chipperly introducing herself. Quinn just gave her a cold glare that made Rachel's stomach turn.

"Just leave her alone," Rachel interjected.

Quinn's eyes landed on Rachel, and she turned on her charming smile.

"Oh, you want to protect your friend from the evil cheerleaders? How chivalrous of you, Berry. You must really like this one. I wonder if she knows what a little freakshow you are."

"Maybe she's into that kind of thing," Sheila smirked, "Well, Lizzie? You want to tap the freak?"

Amber laughed and started simulating a blowjob with her hand, poking her tongue into her cheek.

"Ugh, spare me the visual," Quinn laughed.

Liz was biting her bottom lip, looking like she was on the verge of tears.

"Aw, Quinn, RuPaul's little girlfriend is gonna cry," Amber said with mock sympathy.

"Too much for your first day?" Quinn simpered, "Don't worry. Tomorrow will be worse."

Liz sniffed and stalked down the hall in the other direction, her arms stiffly by her side. Quinn turned back to Rachel with a pleasant smile.

"So, Freak, miss me?"

Sheila appeared on Quinn's other side and handed her a sloshing slushie cup. Rachel took a deep breath and held her chin in the air.

"You don't have to do this, Quinn," she said.

Quinn smirked. "Oh, but I want to."

"You're better than this. I know that deep down you're-"

Before she could finish her sentence, she was covered her grape slushie.

PRESENT DAY

Quinn clung to the toilet and vomited. She'd been hiding in the bathroom for most of the day now. Her first day back in McKinley could easily be added to the collection of the worst days in her life. She knew walking through the halls in a maternity sundress would be very different from walking around in her slimming cheerleading uniform, but it turned out to be so much worse than she expected.

Quinn waited a little more than fifteen minutes after lunch break ended and left her hiding place in the girls' bathroom. She went to the nurse's office and got permission to go home. She walked the whole way to the Berry's.

TWO HOURS EARLIER

Santana left the girls' locker room with a sinful grin on her face. Now that her time with Brittany in the showers were over, she was counting down the minutes until she could have some more time with Brittany in the janitor's closet during lunch. She was pretty sure this was going to be a perfect day, until Rachel Berry came striding toward her with a look of crazed fury in her eyes.

"I should have known that you orchestrated this whole thing." Rachel marched toward her, her face red with anger. "You spread that vicious lie about me! It is completely inadmissible and audacious and slanderous and I demand that you resolve this situation immediately!"

Santana snorted. "Jeez, Berry, did you swallow a thesaurus?"

"I knew something weird was going on, but I had no idea it was because you decided to turn tormenting me into an art form!"

Two girls passed them, whispering to each other and looking Rachel up and down with lascivious grins on their faces. Rachel's face turned bright red as she widened her eyes even more at Santana.

"Did you see that?! This is preposterous!" Rachel whined, frustrated tears wetting her eyelashes.

"Ay, dios mio. Don't do this to me, Berry."

Santana grabbed the small brunette by her shoulders and dragged her into the nearest empty classroom.

"Listen, I have a new plan, and it's not an attempt to torment you, okay? Things have gotten a little out of control, yeah, but the plan wasn't to hurt you."

Rachel gave her an incredulous look and folded her arms.

Santana sighed. "This may be hard to believe, Berry, but I'm done. The slushies, the nicknames, all of it. That rumor I spread was my way of… I was trying to help… well, I never said I was any good at this kind of thing! I get that it turned into kind of a mess but I won't let anyone take advantage of the situation, believe me."

Rachel shook her head. "I don't understand. Everyone thinks I'm some sort of Kama Sutra goddess now. They keep coming up with new metaphors to illustrate the size of my…" Rachel trailed off, getting red again, "People are making guesses on the bathroom wall about how many girls I've slept with. I'm getting Facebook friended by girls at Carmel and Haverbrook who claim they're interested in experimenting!"

Santana bit her lip, trying not to smile. "I thought you'd like being popular. You always say you want to be a star."

"Not like that. I don't people thinking I'm some sexual shark. That I've been with all these girls."

Santana raised an eyebrow. "Shit. This is about Quinn, isn't it?"

Rachel looked up, surprised. "Don't worry. She doesn't feel the same about me."

xxx

Quinn walked quickly toward her locker, nervous about missing second period, too, since her blood tests had taken longer than she'd expected. In a way, the delay had turned out to be a good thing. The few surprised looks she was getting from stray students who were transitioning late between classes were like a preview for how the rest of the student body would react to her return. She opened her locker to get the textbooks she would need, reminding herself that she should have texted Mercedes as soon as she stepped foot in McKinley. The girl had offered to escort her around on her first day, but Quinn had declined, not wanting to look like a cripple or a new kid.

"What are you looking at?!" she snapped at a sophomore boy who was gaping at her.

He blinked, alarmed, but then smirked. "Easy. You should probably relax. That can't be good for the baby."

Quinn clenched her fists. She probably would have clawed at the brazen boy if Noah Puckerman hadn't speed-walked toward them, grabbing a fistful of the boy's shirt and slamming him against a locker.

"Get out of here, bean-pole, unless you want your tiny balls ripped off," the boy snarled.

The sophomore looked terrified as Puck stepped out of his way, letting him scramble out of the hallway.

"I could've handled that," Quinn said coldly.

Puck smiled warmly at her. "Yeah, you've always got everything under control."

The bell rang, sounding the end of second period. Quinn grabbed her geometry book.

"You look pretty today," said Puck, leaning against the wall of lockers.

Quinn turned toward him, raising one incredulous eyebrow. Puck almost blushed and scratched the back of his head.

"The dress… It's pretty. You look good in blue."

Quinn arched her other eyebrow. "I'm leaving."

"Quinn, wait-"

As Quinn turned to walk away, her eyes locked down the barrel of the hallway toward the entrance. She stopped still and Puck followed her gaze, his jaw dropping. Jayelle Pignuola, a curly-haired girl from Jane Addams Academy, was hanging around Rachel Berry's neck, their lips locked in front of everyone as students flooded out of class.

xxx

Jayelle, Aphasia and Shadonza were the most powerful trio of Jane Addams Academy and a few days ago the rumor had spread to the halls of their school that Rachel Barbra Berry, McKinley's glee club captain and the reason for their defeat at Sectionals, was now the biggest slut in the tri-state area.

No-one knew how it happened, but the word was that she had bedded every cheerleader in every school in Lima and its surrounding towns. It had sounded strange at first, but when they heard that Berry was responsible for the most mind-blowing orgasms a girl could have, people became interested. The claims were doubtful at first, to say the least, but after spying the baby bump on on Quinn Fabray at Sectionals and hearing that it was Rachel, of all people, who put it there, Jayelle had no choice but to believe the rumors. Rachel Berry was an other-wordly sex machine. And if Berry only slept with the hottest girls, Jayelle had to prove herself worthy of her reputation.

Rachel crossed the hallways after second period let out, scouring the school looking for Quinn. She was beginning to worry and decided it would be prudent to look for Mercedes. Engrossed in her search for either girl, she didn't pay much attention to the whispers around her, even when the Jane Addams girls began walking toward her.

Everything happened so fast that she barely had any time to react when a girl flung her arms around Rachel's neck and planted a sloppy kiss on her. Rachel pulled her face back and her eyes flickered down the hall to see Quinn staring at her, ghostly white, Puck standing behind her, gawking at them. Rachel's mouth was hanging open, the girl's body still pressed against hers in a forced embrace. The girl decided to dive in again, taking Rachel's gaping mouth as an opportunity to stick her tongue in. Rachel practically gagged and tried to push the girl away, but she had her arms pinned down to her sides.

"What the Hell do you think you're doing?!"

Before Rachel could wriggle away from the unknown girl, Santana Lopez was pulling the stranger away with fury in her eyes. Rachel widened her eyes at Santana and then glanced back in Quinn's direction. The blonde's figure was disappearing down the hallway, her shoulders hunched and her head down.

Rachel shot down the hall after her, pushing gaping students out of the way. The brunette disappeared through the cluster of people that had collected around them.

xxx

FRESHMAN YEAR

The crowd was chanting Puck's name. The Cheerios were taking their positions for the halftime show and the boys gathered near Coach Tanaka, sweat dripping off of their foreheads. Puck watched Quinn as she was pitched to the top of the human pyramid.

"Puckerman, stop drooling of the girls and pay attention to your next play," the coach called, "You guys remember to clear the way for Hudson to score, alright?"

Puck frowned. He'd been the star of this game. Thanks to him, they were in the lead, and he hated the idea of staying out of the way so Finn Hudson could get all the glory, yet again.

"You should go for her, man," Finn said to him, tossing his arm over Puck's shoulder as the players dispersed from their huddle.

Puck pulled his eyes away from Quinn and gave Finn a surprised look. "What?"

"You can't keep your eyes off of Santana. I say you should go for it."

Puck glanced back at the Cheerios and landed eyes on Santana Lopez, who was directly below Quinn on the pyramid. Puck went back to the game after half-time, but his focus was gone. They ended up losing and Finn sprained an ankle. Puck barely thought about the abysmal scoreboard, but his mind kept fading back to the look of concern on Quinn's face as she cooed over Finn. That night, he slept with Santana, and a different girl the night after that. He was trying to forget Quinn, but he ended up just pretending they were her. In less than a month, he'd made a reputation for himself as McKinley's resident womanizer; a reputation that he embraced

xxx

PRESENT

"I can speak for myself."

Quinn sounded angry, that was for sure. She stood a step behind Rachel's fathers, staring steadily at the pair out on the porch. LeRoy and Hiram stood back, clearing Quinn's path.

"Quinn, we need to talk," said Rachel.

Quinn looked at Puck, ignoring the brunette. "What did you have to say to me?"

Puck took a deep breath and stepped closer to her. "I'm sorry, Q. I know I missed things up between us."

Quinn wrinkled her nose. "Puck, there is no 'us'."

"I know, but I-"

"But you want there to be."

Puck nodded. "Hell yeah." He could hardly believe that he was finally admitting it. Quinn looked at him, her face a blank page.

Hiram and LeRoy watched from the hall, dumbfounded and uncomfortable. They'd never really seen Quinn this way, with a blank stare and cold speech. Rachel was still standing behind Puck, staring at the blonde, a lump in her throat. She'd seen Quinn's ice queen facade plenty of times. It was the cold outer shell that protected her feelings. It was clear that she was reacting to what she saw earlier in the hallway, and Rachel was determined to figure out the feelings behind that reaction.

"You're ignoring me because you're jealous!" Rachel snapped.

The four in front of her all turned to stare at the brunette, surprised by her outburst. It was like spilling blood into a sea full of sharks. Quinn's hazel eyes was shooting daggers at her. Rachel didn't care. She wanted her attention and she couldn't think of a better approach.

Quinn stepped past Puck and stood inches away from Rachel's face. "What did you just say?"

"Just stating the obvious, Quinn. When you feel threatened or vulnerable you put up the armor and attack anyone who gets too close."

"You think I'm threatened by you?" asked Quinn, gritting her teeth.

"No. I just know that you'd rather run away and pretend you feel nothing than admit what's really bothering you." Rachel's voice was calm as she felt Quinn's hot breath against her face.

"I guess you're still feeling brave from your little show this morning. It certainly was brave of you to kiss your girlfriend in front of the whole school. She is your girlfriend, isn't she? Or is she just one of your many little whores? All the hottest girls in Ohio, I've heard. I guess I was just the most recent acquisition."

"Quinn, there was never anyone else. It was only you. That's just a rumor."

"I'm not stupid! I don't care about how many girls you've been with, Berry. I'm Quinn Fabray. I don't take second place," Quinn yelled, then spun around to look at Puck, "Puckerman, you've got yourself a date."

Rachel watched with her mouth open as Quinn stormed past the three men and back into the house. Hiram and LeRoy watched, mouths agape, as Quinn disappeared upstairs. Rachel blinked.

"Quinn Fabray, don't you dare storm off on me!" she suddenly yelled and ran off after the blonde.

The girls disappeared upstairs and left the three men glancing awkwardly at each other.

xxx

Quinn walked into her room and slammed the door shut. Rachel managed to halt to a stop before colliding with it. She turned the knob and stormed in.

"You are not going on a date with Noah Puckerman."

Quinn grimaced. "I hate not having a lock on that door."

"You are so stubborn."

"You are so frustrating!" Quinn snapped.

"I'm frustrating? Have you met yourself?" Rachel stomped her foot.

"I'm not the one taking advantage of my fifteen minutes of fame by mauling every hot girl I meet!"

"That was all a stupid misunderstanding! Santana had this idiotic plan-"

"Oh, I bet Santana's loving this. How did she ever repay you, hm? I still remember the way she pawed at you in glee club."

"What are you implying?"

"What do you think?!"

"Quinn, I didn't do anything! I could never!"

"Oh yeah?! Why not? What's stopping you, huh?! Why not just sleep with every girl in Ohio?!"

"Because I love you!"


	10. I'm Not That Girl

**_Sweetly Wicked_ **

**_Chapter 09 – I’m Not That Girl_ **

 

**FRIDAY AFTERNOON**

Rachel huffed furiously, crossing her arms over her chest. She shook her right foot impatiently, still in disbelief about how she ended up in this situation. Mr. Schuester seemed even more impatient than his student, running his hand through his hair as he tried to talk. Across the room, on Rachel’s left, Sue Sylvester ranted about Mr. Schue being the evil mastermind behind the chaos that had settled on the school a few hours ago.

Principal Figgins was sitting in his black leather armchair, comfortably resting his elbows against his mahogany desk. His eyes followed the teachers as they exchanged barbs for nearly fifteen minutes without stopping to breathe.

“He won’t stop until he turns this school into a den of depravity! I have been reporting the conflicts caused by this little harpy all week and today is the end!” the coach pointed her index finger at Mr. Schue, “He has been corrupting the minds of that little glee club for the sole purpose of dismantling my Cheerios. I’ve already lost my head cheerleader, who no doubt fell victim to his evil plans. Now, he’s trying to destroy the rest of my squad.”

“Sue, that’s crazy! What happened with Quinn has nothing to do with this.”

“That little nympho of yours has been displaying her sexual deviancy all over this school. She _impregnated_ the best cheerleader my squad has ever seen, wiping away all possibility of me winning another championship title, and you don’t think any of this is connected? All my squad can focus on is what’s swinging underneath those micro miniskirts.

“Sue, for God’s sakes, listen to yourself,” Mr. Schuester raised his voice, “Rachel has done nothing wrong-”

“She’s a threat to the student body! I demand her expulsion immediately,” said the woman, slapping both her hands down on Figgins’ desk.

The office door swung open and the others turned to see Hiram Berry stride in with fury on his face, accompanied by LeRoy. Rachel rose from her chair and instinctively ran to the comfort of her fathers. LeRoy put a protective arm around his daughter’s shoulder and gave Hiram a tight nod.

“I demand to know what’s going on,” said Hiram, putting one hand on Rachel’s shoulder.

Principal Figgins sighed deeply. “Mr. and Mr. Berry, please, take a seat. This could take some time.”

 

**ONE WEEK EARLIER**

Quinn felt her blood run cold. She stared at the girl in front of her, who had all of a sudden turned ghostly pale and covered her mouth with her hands. Her eyes popped out of her head. She clearly was not intending to say that. To say, “Because I love you.” The words echoed in Quinn’s mind and her head spun. The silence that had fallen over the room was lasting an eternity. Her body went numb and her heart leapt into her throat. Afraid that her legs would give way to the weight of her body, she clutched the bedside table in support.

Rachel had not moved. A terrified expression was frozen on her face. Quinn took her silence as an expression of regret. She turned away from the girl in embarrassment, a caring hand over her bump. Her eyes filled with tears and she bit her bottom lip to keep them from falling. Rachel had finally said exactly what Quinn needed to hear, but the brunette’s reaction to her own sudden confession was making the blonde doubt how much she meant it.

“You’re lying,” Quinn forced the words out of her mouth, trying to swallow the lump in her throat that threatened to choke her.

Rachel watched the tears roll off of Quinn’s cheeks and realized what the girl must have thought. Her attempt to tear down Quinn’s walls had taken a completely different course. Besides, what had Rachel done lately to make Quinn think that she actually loved her? They lived together peacefully, but were barely speaking. Quinn had ownership of a large share of blame in this mess, but Rachel wasn’t a victim.

Quinn had shyly turned to Rachel for comfort so often. Rachel wasn’t stupid. She knew Quinn’s need to sleep with Rachel was a cry for affection. The blonde tried to hide her smile when they snuggled close together, but Quinn craved the intimacy. But when they woke in the morning, Rachel was the one who chose to pretend it was meaningless. She had begun doing what she hated to see Quinn do - run away from her feelings. She tried to convince herself that she didn’t have feelings for Quinn, but she had convinced Quinn of those things, instead.

“I- Quinn…” Rachel tried to approach the girl.

Anguish rushed through Quinn’s body. “Go away,” she said in a choking sob that surprised even her.

Rachel watched the way she leaned against the nightstand looking like a cornered animal. Her hands clenched the edge and Rachel was unsure her body could stay upright. Logically, Rachel knew she should leave Quinn alone, but she was unwilling to move.

“There’s no reason you should love me,” Quinn sniffed.

Rachel shook her head. “It’s the truth. I do love you. I always have. Even when I hated you, I loved you. Your eyes, your voice, your complicated mind. Since the day I gave you that strawberry-shaped eraser.”

A tear slipped down Quinn’s cheek. “I don’t believe you.”

“Why?”

“Because it doesn’t make sense, Rachel!” Quinn yelled, whirling around, “I was never kind. I was never warm. There was no sparkle in my eyes or sweetness in my voice. I was a bitch my whole life. I was horrible to everyone, but to you especially, and for you to say you love me after everything I’ve done to you… Then there must be something wrong with you. You think we can be a happy couple? Just two suburban moms? Please, Rachel. If _this_ never happened, everything would be the same. I would still be torturing you at school every day. I’m not a good person. It just so happens that the stakes have changed.”

Now that she had said the words aloud, it solidified all of her thoughts.

“You are a good person, Quinn,” said Rachel, her voice barely above a whisper, “And maybe you’re right. Maybe if you never got pregnant, we wouldn’t be here. But it wouldn’t change the fact that ever since we were little kids, I saw something in you that I never forgot. You have to believe me.”

Quinn teared up as she stared back at the brunette. “If you mean it… If you make me believe you… I’ll never want to let go.”

Rachel gave her a shy smile and shrugged. “That’s fine by me. Because I love you, Quinn Fabray.”

Quinn’s face crumpled into tears. Rachel stepped closer to her and wiped them off of her face with the sleeve of her cardigan, making Quinn slowly close her eyes. Rachel put her hand on the girl’s cheek for a moment before leaning forward and pressing her lips down on Quinn’s swollen ones. She tasted the tears that had touched her lips. Quinn’s eyes fluttered open.

“I love-”

A booming crash sounded at the entrance of the room and the girls whirled around to see that Rachel’s door had burst open and her fathers were tangled on top of each other in a heap under the frame.

“Humph… that smarts,” LeRoy grumbled from the floor.

Rachel strode across the room and put her hands on her hips, looking livid as her fathers attempted to gather themselves.

“Get your elbow off of my stomach,” Hiram groaned, swatting at his husband. Rachel scowled at them both.

“Were you two listening in on us the whole time?!”

Hiram glanced at LeRoy, whose face was turning red. “Now might be the time to pretend to faint.”

Rachel huffed loudly, but her expression softened when she noticed Quinn chuckling quietly behind her.

 

xxx

 

The next day after school, Quinn was sitting on a plastic bench with Mercedes, by the giant water fountain in the centre of the Lima Mall. The blonde gave another hopeful glance toward the food court, making Mercedes roll her eyes.

“If they take five more minutes, I will go back there and find them for you. You’re impatience is driving me insane.”

Quinn bit her lip, embarrassed. “Sorry.”

Mercedes just shook her head, smiling to herself. It had been less than fifteen minutes since Rachel and Kurt had disappeared on their quest for a peanut butter strawberry milkshake, chocolate chip Toll House cookies and French fries with bacon bits. Quinn’s vegan phase had officially blown over and Rachel was quick to satisfy any and all of her cravings.

They’d spent almost the entire afternoon in and out of stores, shopping for maternity clothes and baby furniture. Mercedes noticed the sweet smiles and the way Quinn would sporadically blush. It was subtle, but not subtle enough for Mercedes to miss.

 

xxx

 

“Poor pig.”

Rachel narrowed her eyes at the bacon bits that adorned the greasy paper package of French fries she’d bought at a ‘50s themed diner on the outside of the mall. Kurt rolled his eyes beside her.

“You’re the one who asked for extra,” he reminded her.

Rachel wrinkled her nose. “Quinn will like it.”

“Oh,” Kurt said coyly.

Rachel gave him an odd look. “What?”

Kurt shrugged as they left the diner and held up his hands, which were holding two plastic bags stuffed with snacks. “It’s just that we had to find the bakery next to the second floor bookstore because they have the chocolate chip cookies that Quinn likes, and you decided to pick up strawberry suckers, Kit-Kats and Snickers on the way, because Quinn likes them. And we had to book it to this diner for French fries because they’re the only place around with bacon bits. And now we haveto get her milkshake from that gelato place, because she likes it better than regular ice cream.”

Rachel blinked, bewildered. “What’s your point?”

“Rachel, we’ve been running around the mall for twenty minutes trying to satisfy every possible craving that Quinn could ever have! We all know that things are complicated between you and Quinn but… I feel there’s something you’re not telling me.”

Rachel’s mouth hung open as she tried to formulate a response. “Is it that obvious?”

“Yeah. It is.”

Rachel took a deep breath, the saltiness of the bacon fries wafting into her nostrils. “Can we trade? I’d prefer not to smell animal carcass.”

 

xxx

 

“I still prefer your apple pie a la mode,” the boy smiled, staring brightly up at Regina. The two of them sat at a small table clothed in red and white check paper in the centre of the Little Italy Gelateria. Regina smiled back down at him as he scooped up a spoonful of her apple cinnamon frozen yogurt.

“I’m sure your mother was perfectly capable of following my recipe, dear.”

He gave her an astounded look, his buoyant green eyes widening comically before he narrowed his eyes with his trademark playful smile.

“Are you willing to bet another on that?” he asked, taking a long drink of his chocolate milkshake, the straw poking out of a mound of whipped cream and maraschino cherries.

“Not even in my dreams,” she smiled, making him giggle with his mouth full, “I’ve really missed you, Henry.”

“I missed you, too, Mo-”

“Ms. Palmer?”

Regina raised a surprised eyebrow, instantly able to recognize the voice from behind her, as she would anywhere. She turned to see Rachel standing a few feet from the table.

“Rachel, what a surprise,” said Regina, “How have you been lately?”

Rachel scrunched up her face in irritation. “We saw each other yesterday.”

Regina looked dubious. “Are you sure about that? I feel like we haven’t seen each other in quite some time, dear.”

Rachel crossed her arms, rolled her eyes and took a deep breath. “How have you been, Ms. Palmer?” she asked mechanically.

“Very well, Rachel,” Regina smiled approvingly.

“Who is he?” Rachel asked impatiently, her eyes glued to Henry, who was staring back in curiosity.

Rachel and Kurt had picked up their peanut butter strawberry milkshake at the counter and as they were about to leave, Rachel noticed the seated pair and decided to intervene now instead of waiting for her next session to ask about it. She was unsure whether she was motivated by jealousy or curiosity, but she had never considered Regina having other patients, possibly because the girl took up so much of the therapist’s time and energy. Henry cocked his head to the side as he gazed back at Rachel, suddenly feeling threatened by her presence. “I’m Henry,” he introduced herself, “Her son.”

Rachel’s eyes widened in disbelief. “You don’t have a son!” she hissed at Regina, “I-I mean, you never told me about a son. Where has he been all this time?”

“Around,” Henry shrugged, taking another sip of his milkshake, making Rachel bristle.

Regina stood and gave Henry a disapproving look, placing a hand on Rachel’s shoulder. “This really isn’t the time or place to have a personal discussion,” she said, glancing between the two.

Rachel took a deep breath and mustered up a polite smile. “I’m sorry. You’re right. I didn’t mean to be rude. I’ll leave now. Just, before I go, I wanted to remind you that Dad is putting you in charge of dessert for this year’s family barbecue. You know your apple pie has become a highly anticipated tradition.”

Regina sighed. “Yes, of course. Tell LeRoy I apologize for not returning his calls last week but we’ll catch up at yoga on Friday.”

“I’ll let him know,” Rachel simpered, giving Henry one last sickly sweet expression, “It was nice to meet you. You two enjoy your day together.”

Henry smiled back at her. “Don’t worry. We’ll have plenty of days like this one to enjoy.”

Rachel raised her chin, her smile twitching. She gave Henry a tight nod before she whirled around, whipping her hair behind her, but before she could walk away and meet Kurt at the door, she knocked straight into another customer who was striding into the store, stumbled back, and fell straight on her butt, the plastic bags of snacks she was holding spilling around her.

“Rachel!” Regina gasped, quickly kneeling down to help the girl to her feet, “Are you okay, dear?”

Rachel huffed as she smoothed down her skirt. “Only thing bruised is my ego,” she grumbled under her breath, Henry holding his hand over his mouth in order to stifle a laugh.

The tall boy who’d bumped into Rachel scrambled to the floor and to pick up the snacks she’d dropped. “I’m so sorry, that was completely my fault,” he said, flashing her a charming smile as he handed her things back, “Please, let me buy you some gelato as an apology.”

“Really, that won’t be necessary,” Rachel smiled politely.

“Honestly, I’ll feel terrible about myself. Are you sure I can’t get you anything?”

“No, thank you, sir,” Rachel nodded to him, her face turning red. She just wanted to leave. Now.

“Please, sir is much too polite a term,” he chuckled, “My name is Jesse. Jesse St. James.”

 

xxx

 

“She said she _loved_ you?” Mercedes exclaimed, her eyes sparkling with excitement.

“Yes,” Quinn nodded, blushing.

“Did you say it back?”

“How do you-?”

“Oh, come on, it’s all over your face.”

Quinn sighed. “No. Not yet. We were… interrupted.”

It hadn’t even been twenty four hours since Rachel confessed her feelings and Quinn felt impossibly peaceful. The girls had slept in the same bed that night, Rachel softly singing a lullaby before kissing her forehead and falling asleep. It was the most intimate night they’d ever shared.

“So when are you going to tell her?”

Quinn pursed her lips. It was a private issue and wasn’t very used to sharing her feelings, but Mercedes had proved herself as such a good friend that it made Quinn eager to trust someone. Besides, she’d never felt this excited about liking someone. She wanted to be able to share that joy.

“I want to make it special,” she said, thoughtfully furrowing her brow.

“Speak of the devil,” Mercedes mumbled and Quinn looked up to see Rachel and Kurt striding toward them with an unknown dark-haired gentleman.

“Sorry for taking so long. We came across a few bumps,” said Rachel, setting her bags of snacks down on the bench.

“By that, she means we went on a wild goose chase to find all your favorite candies,” said Kurt, exasperated.

Quinn took a peek inside a bag full of candy bars. “Oh, Rach, you didn’t have to do that.”

Mercedes and Kurt shared a knowing look, and the dark-haired stranger cleared his throat.

“I don’t mean to interrupt, but I think the gelato is melting,” said Jesse, lifting the tray of ice cream cups.

“Where are our manners?” Kurt smiled, “Quinn, Mercedes, this is Jesse. He insisted on buying us ice cream.”

“It was the least I could do after I publicly humiliated Rachel.”

“I was _not_ humiliated. Just mildly embarrassed,” said Rachel, “Jesse quite literally bumped into me in the gelateria.”

“ _She_ bumped into _him_ because she was busy flipping her hair,” Kurt corrected, before Rachel threw him an indignant look.

“Either way, I hope you all enjoy the treats. It’s about time for me to leave,” said Jesse.

“You have to go already?” asked Kurt.

“I agreed to help my coach and she’s probably wondering where I am.”

“Coach? Are you an athlete?”

“No,” Jesse chuckled, “My vocal coach. I’m the captain of my school’s show choir team.”

“What school do you go to?” asked Rachel.

“Carmel,” he said, handing the tray of ice cream to Kurt, “You’ve probably heard of us.”

 

xxx

 

Jesse checked over his shoulder to make sure none of the McKinley crowd had followed, before he headed into a downtown book lounge. His eyes immediately fell past the crowd to the dark-haired woman sitting at the bench of the black baby grand. Most of the customers stopped from shuffling through overpriced books to watch her perform a piano medley from _Les Miserables_. Jesse leaned against a bookshelf as he waited for the playing to stop and the smattering of applause that followed to die down.

The woman, dressed in black and purple, slid off of the bench and made her way smoothly toward Jesse, her eyes shifting nervously despite her calming demeanour.

“You found her?” she asked quietly.

“I did,” Jesse smiled smugly, “She’s definitely your daughter.”

**THE NEXT DAY**

“I still don’t understand why you’re stressing out about this guy, Berry,” Santana sighed from the back of the choir room, filing her nails, “There’s nothing you won’t start drama over.”

Rachel glared at the girl and Quinn gritted her teeth.

“Guys, please,” Mr. Schuester said wearily, trying to regain the kids’ attention, “Rachel, there’s no reason to be worried-”

“I wouldn’t be so optimistic if I were you, Goldilocks.”

The whole room turned to see Sue Sylvester stride into the room in her trademark red tracksuit, flanked by Becky Jackson pushing a television cart and a matching VCR.

“Don’t attempt to encourage these losers. You’ll only lead them lives as walking fiascos.”

Becky pulled the cart in front of the class and plopped down on Artie’s lap, almost knocking off his glasses. Tina gave the girl a nasty look, and the cheerleader grumbled, “Back off, Chinatown,” under her breath.

Sue took the remote and clicked the play button, the VHS tape sprang to live, displaying fuzzy footage of Vocal Adrenaline doing kick jumps and handstands, all while belting out a Freddie Mercury number. One of their members hobbled away from the edge of the stage, in tears. From out of view, their coach barked orders at them, making the New Directions wince. When the video ended, Finn looked up at his teacher, seeking some much needed comfort.

Santana cleared her throat. “Maybe Berry has a point.”

**ONE HOUR LATER**

Quinn left the library holding a copy of ‘The Canterville Ghost’. She checked her watch, disappointed that it was so early in the day. She was exhausted. After Sue had left the choir room with a triumphant smile, the New Directions had shared a collective feeling of defeat. Except for Rachel. Her eyes sparkled with determination and Quinn knew she was about to get into combat mode. She started to rattle off all of the reasons that this meant Vocal Adrenaline were worthy competitors, but the others didn’t seem as eager to share her perspective. After their meeting, Rachel decided to take a few extra minutes to discuss the situation with Mr. Schue, so Quinn decided to kill time in the library. Twenty minutes ago.

Quinn walked to the front entrance of the school and stood on the steps, spotting Rachel’s car in the near empty parking lot. She pulled her cell out of one of the large pockets of her maternity sundress and sent the brunette a text, quickly getting a message back telling her that Rachel’s on her way.

“I think we need to talk.”

Quinn whirled around, her heart jumping quickly, to see Santana leaning against the entrance door frame, her arms folded over her chest.

“I don’t think we do,” Quinn frowned, starting to walk down the steps toward Rachel’s car.

“Please tell me, is this some kind of trick, or is Lady of Perpetual Stick Up Her Ass finally deciding to be happy?” asked Santana, quickly and easily following the girl.

Quinn stopped and turned to face the cheerleader. “If you’re trying to ask how I’m doing, I think you should try a little harder. And while we’re at it, how about you stay away from Rachel? I don’t buy it for a second that you actually care about her or that it killed you to be mean to her? You love to be a bitch and it really doesn’t matter who you hurt.”

Santana laughed. “So you’re really gonna stick up for the hobbit? Not gonna lie, I kind of expected you to choose flight over fight.”

“Don’t mess with me, Santana,” Quinn hissed, “You’ll regret it.”

Quinn whirled back around and speed-walked toward Rachel’s car, while Santana’s feet remained planted firmly on the ground.

“You could have asked her nicely,” said Brittany, appearing over the girl’s shoulder, “Just tell her you’re sorry.”

Santana looked up at the blonde, a sly smile on her face. “What would be the fun in that?”

 

xxx

 

“You’re being very quiet tonight,” said Rachel, taking a seat next to Quinn in the living room, a bowl of buttered popcorn in her hands.

The blonde had been suspiciously quiet ever since Rachel met her in the parking lot after school. She’d tried to engage in conversation, but Quinn’s answered were short and she looked deep in thought. Rachel had given her a few hours to herself, hoping she would confess what was wrong, but her patience was wearing thin.

“I’m just thinking,” said Quinn, resting her head on Rachel’s shoulder, not taking her eyes off of the TV.

“Oh,” Rachel answered, disappointed. Her deepest fear was that Quinn would begin to have second thoughts about their relationship. Feeling her body become tense, Quinn snuggled closer into the brunette.

“About Santana.”

Rachel furrowed her brow. “Santana? Why?”

Quinn shrugged and reached for a handful of popcorn. “You two have become more involved since that performance.”

“Well, I think she’s trying to be civil, in her own way. She’s not a bad person, per se.”

Quinn snorted. “Do you like her?”

“What?”

“You heard me. I mean, she’s attractive, right?”

Rachel couldn’t help but smirk. “Are you jealous?”

A deep frown set into Quinn’s face. “That’s not the point.”

Rachel gave the blonde a tight squeeze. “Santana isn’t on my radar. You’re the only one I see.”

Quinn smiled a little before lifting her head and kissing Rachel. They both took in deep breaths as their lips pressed against each other. Rachel felt a thrill run through her as Quinn pulled her closer, the two intertwined, sweet moans escaping their mouths in between kisses. They pulled apart and their eyes met. Quinn smiled and caressed the side of Rachel’s face, basking in her big brown eyes.

“I’m not the person I used to be,” she said, “I know that now. I was mean and afraid and conflicted, but I’m not that girl anymore. I’m not afraid and I need you to know that I lo-”

“For the love of God, LeRoy!” Hiram snapped as he limped into the living room, his red-faced husband behind him.

“It’s not my fault,” Hiram said to the girls, “I was trying to get him out of here.”

“By attacking me with Victor Hugo?! _Les Miserables_ can kill a man, you know!”

Rachel glared at her fathers before glancing at Quinn, who was blushing pink.

 

**THURSDAY AFTERNOON - THE LIMA BEAN**

Quinn, Brittany, Mercedes and Tina waited at a table near the window, snacking on junk food as their talked.

“Rachel said we should buy a crib this weekend. She wants the one with the yellow canopy we see on Tuesday, the frilly one? I don’t know if I like it. It’s very _Once Upon a Time_.”

“Me and Lord Tubbington watch that show. He says that your baby doctor slayed a dragon,” said Brittany, sniffing her chocolate muffin.

Quinn raised an eyebrow at her friend before continuing.

“Well, I like the sleigh-type one, made from cherry wood. Mr. and Mr. Berry agree with me, too, so I just have to make Rachel see things my way,” she shrugged, and took a sip of her cinnamon apple herbal tea.

Tina and Mercedes smirked at each other, amused by how delighted their friend seemed to be while talking about such mundane things. She talked about Rachel as if they were an old married couple.

“When is Rachel getting here?” asked Tina.

Quinn glanced at her wristwatch. “Any time now. She usually leaves the studio five minutes after class ends.”

“How is she doing? It’s pretty cool that she could find a gig teaching ballet. That extra money will definitely come in handy.”

Quinn was proud of Rachel for finding a job in her old ballet school. Even though she preached about how good it would look to have a 4.0 GPA, extra-curriculars _and_ a job in the arts on her college applications, Quinn knew the brunette was only doing it so she could help provide for their son.

Brittany picked up her muffin and sniffed it again.

“Girl, what the Hell are you doing with that muffin?” Mercedes demanded.

“Yeah, Britt, what’s wrong?” asked Quinn.

Brittany sighed. “Coach Sylvester has been extra angry since you left the squad. She said a team of seals could do a better routine than us, so I asked if we could dress up as seals, so she said that everything I say is so stupid that I’m not allowed to use my tongue until she says I can. And since I can’t use my tongue, I can’t do anything fun like eat or drink or make out with Santana.”

The girls looked around at each other.

“But you’re using your tongue to talk to us,” Tina pointed out.

Brittany widened her eyes and slapped her hand over her mouth, just as Rachel approached their table, escorted by a smirking Santana. Quinn glared at the Latina, while Brittany took one look at the girl’s skinny jeans and red tube top and hopped up from her seat, speed-walking right out of the coffee shop.

Santana raised an eyebrow. “What was that?”

Mercedes shook her head. “She’s trying to keep her tongue under control.”

Santana furrowed her brow. “Okay, well, I’m going to go find her and do some damage control. Coffee and girl talk will have to wait, Berry.”

Santana waggled her fingers at the rest of the girls and left the shop in search for Brittany.

Rachel took a seat next to Quinn and gave her a grin. “You can stop giving me the death stare, Quinn.”

Quinn pouted. “I wasn’t.”

“Oh yes you were,” said Mercedes.

“Let’s just get started, okay?” said Quinn, “Now, what are we going to do about Vocal Adrenaline.”

 

xxx

 

Rachel pulled up into the garage and glanced at Quinn, who was yawning in the passenger seat.

Rachel smirked at the girl. “You look beautiful.”

Quinn gave her an incredulous look. “I look awful.”

“No, you don’t. You never look awful.”

Quinn scoffed. “Well, I’m starting to look like a barrel. You won’t find me so pretty when I’m covered in stretch marks.”

“Quinn, you’re the prettiest girl I’ve ever met. Nothing can change that.”

Quinn raised a dubious eyebrow, her bottom lip jutting out. “You swear?”

“I swear. Now, let’s go to bed. I’m exhausted.”

Cicadas chirped outside of the windows as Rachel’s eyes closed slowly, a slight smile on her face as Quinn nuzzled her head into the girl’s shoulder, fighting off sleep.

“Rachel?”

“Yes?”

“Do you think we’ll actually be able to write an original song? One that’s good enough to beat Vocal Adrenaline?”

“I know we can,” Rachel answered softly.

Quinn sighed, her eyes fluttering closed, surrendering to sleep. “I don’t trust that Jesse guy. He was giving you weird looks.”

“Don’t worry about it, Quinn,” Rachel yawned, “Everything will be alright.”

 

**FRIDAY – THE AUDITORIUM**

Tina Cohen-Chang took to the centre stage with a huge, gleeful smile on her face, ready to practise her first glee club solo, when a crowd of cheerleaders clad in red and white flooded the entrances and walked down the aisles, hands on hips.

“What’s going on?” Mr. Schuester said aloud as the cheerleaders hopped on stage and herded Tina away. Red-faced, the girl joined the rest of the perplexed glee club in the front row while the Cheerios got into position, leaving Mr. Schuester ignored.

Brittany and Santana, both wearing their cheerleader uniforms among the rest of the glee clubbers, shared a confused look. Santana had never OK’d an impromptu performance for the glee club and had a sneaking suspicion that her subordinates had planned some sort of hostile takeover in their own time. She also had an inkling that it had something to do with the rumors spread about Rachel Berry.

A few of the cheerleaders on the edge of the stage winked at the preppy brunette and blew flirty kisses, making the brunette’s cheeks turn pink. Quinn crossed her arms tighter and scowled as music started bumping from the stereo system behind the curtain. A Pussycat Dolls song started playing and the Cheerios started twirling and gyrating with the music.

“ _Don’t ‘cha wish your girlfriend was hot like me? Don’t ‘cha wish your girlfriend was a freak like me? Don’t cha.”_

Quinn suddenly felt very self-conscious, wrapping her arms around her round belly. She was startled when she felt Rachel’s hand on her arm. She turned to her side to see Rachel peering at her with apologetic eyes. Behind them, the boys hooted at the dancing cheerleaders, but Rachel’s eyes didn’t leave Quinn. Quinn stared steadily back at her, a smile forming on their face, until both of the girls were close to laughter, the Cheerios still dancing wildly, failing to catch their full attention.

When the music faded out and the Cheerios performance ended, Rachel hopped from her seat. “Now that tryouts are over, can you all please clear the stage?” she called out loudly, “I have something I’d like to perform.”

The cheerleaders shuffled out of the auditorium as Rachel climbed onstage and sat down at the piano. She looked out at the glee club and her eyes connected with Quinn’s.

“The lyrics of this song are very important to me,” she said into her microphone, “It’s everything my heart has wanted to say for a while now.”

She put her fingers to the piano keys and began to play a tinkling tune.

_“Some people live for the fortune_

_Some people live for the fame_

_Some people live for the power, yeah_

_Some people live just to play the game_

_Some people think that the physical things_

_Define what’s within_

_And I’ve been there before_

_But that life’s a bore_

_So full of the superficial_

_Some people want it all_

_But I don’t want nothing at all_

_If I ain’t got you, baby_

_If I ain’t got you, baby_

_Some people want diamond rings_

_Some just want everything_

_But everything means nothing_

_If I ain’t got you, yeah_

_Some people search for a fountain That promises forever young Some people need three dozen roses And that's the only way to prove you love them Hand me the world on a silver platter And what good would it be? With no-one to share With no-one who truly be cares for me.”_

The auditorium was silent as Rachel sang, her voice filling the room.

“ _Some people want it all But I don't want nothing at all If it ain't got you, baby If I ain't got you, baby Some people want diamond rings Some just want everything But everything means nothing If I ain't got you, you, you_

_Some people want it all But I don't want nothing at all If it ain't got you, baby If I ain't got you, baby Some people want diamond rings Some just want everything But everything means nothing If I ain't got you, yeah_

_If I ain't got you with me, baby_

_So nothing in this whole wide world don't mean a thing If I ain't got you with me, baby’_.”

The song faded into silence as the last note of the piano hung in the air, the glee club still silent, in a spell, as Rachel and Quinn met eyes once again. Tears were stuck in Quinn’s hazel green eyes and her smile was wide and proud. Rachel stood from the piano, never breaking eye contact with the blonde.

“Quinn Fabray? Would you do me the honor of being my girlfriend?”

The glee club held their breath and turned to look at the blonde, who was smiling blissfully.

“You snot-nosed, oily-haired freaks! How dare you steal my Cheerios?!”

The room turned to see Sue Sylvester power walking down the aisle, her fists clenched at her side, headed straight for Mr. Schuester. Rachel hopped off the stage, ready to end glee club for the day, and unfortunately catching Sue’s line of sight.

“You!” she bellowed, pointing a finger straight at the brunette. Rachel froze in place. “You’re the reason that this school is turning into Planet of the Apes, you pocket-sized Streisand impersonator! Don’t think I don’t know that you’re his secret weapon to destroy my girls and dismantle the rightful hierarchy of this establishment! You’ve already tainted my head cheerleader. I will not allow you to brainwash any more of my athletes!”

Next thing Rachel knew, she was in the principal’s office.

 

xxx

 

“Sue, I don’t think it is reasonable to even consider suspending Ms. Berry,” Figgins said diplomatically, his eyes steadily on the surface of his desk.

“She is responsible for the greatest act of rebellion to ever face the state of Ohio and you have the gall to tell me you’re not going to punish her?”

“Ms. Berry is not responsible for the behavior of the Cheerios.”

Sue threw up her hands and quickly left the office in a whirlwind of anger. Rachel couldn’t help but grin smugly and leave with her fathers. As they walked away from the office, Quinn squeezed her way through a small group of freshmen and stride over to Rachel, a coy smile on her face. Before Rachel could speak a greeting, Quinn grabbed her by the collar of her sweater and planted a kiss in the middle of the hallway, in front of her fathers and all their fellow schoolmates. She pulled back, her lips pink and swollen, and said, “Yes.”

Rachel lapped her tongue against the bridge of her mouth, bewildered. “What?”

“I’ll be your girlfriend.”

 

xxx

 

“Oh, Quinn, _please_?” Rachel begged, literally on her knees, her hands clasped together on the edge of the mattress as she peered up at Quinn.

The blonde pinched the bridge of her nose, lying on the bed, where she’d been trying to read for the last fifteen minutes.

“You’re not going to stop bothering me until I say yes, right?”

“Right,” Rachel smiled innocently, “But it won’t be as much fun if you’re not into it.”

“Rachel, I just want to read.”

“You read all the time! This will be fun! We’ve never had a musical dinner with you. Even Regina had one.”

“So you guys will sing and dance around the house as usual, but this time I’ll have to join in?”

“Of course!” Rachel exclaimed, her cheeks getting red with frustration.

Quinn wanted to smile, but attempted to hold a poker face.

“You already sing and dance at glee club, in the shower, when you cook. You sing in your _sleep_ , Rachel! Why do you have to do it at dinner, too?”

Rachel tilted her head to the side. “Why do you have to read so much?”

Quinn furrowed her brow. “Because I like it.”

“How many books have you read this week?”

Quinn fidgeted. “A few.”

“Seven. You’ve read seven books this week. A book a day! How you have time to study and read for pleasure so often is beyond me. Don’t you think it’s a bit excessive?”

Quinn looked bewildered. “You can’t have an excess of books, Rachel. No-one has ever been called _too_ well-read.”

Rachel unclasped her hands and stood, exasperated. “And no-one has ever been called _too_ good a performer!”

“At least I’m not forcing everyone around me to read, too.”

“Fine. I give up. I had no idea that Quinn Fabray could be such a nerd.”

“I am not a nerd!”

“Prove it,” Rachel smirked.

The blonde raised an eyebrow. “You want me to do a musical dinner to prove I’m not a nerd? Doesn’t that seem a little counterproductive?”

Rachel just smiled back at her, already feeling victorious. After all, Quinn had closed her book. Quinn smirked and slid off of the mattress, leaving her closed book on the night stand.

“When did your powers of manipulation become so subtle?” Quinn smiled, bemused.

“I learned from the master,” Rachel puffed with pride.

Quinn stood and wrapped her arms around Rachel’s shoulder, tapping the tip of her tongue against her own top lip. “So, that cherry wood crib I wanted?” Quinn prodded, her voice low and sultry.

Rachel stared at the girl for a moment, her eyes dark. “I don’t know what you just said, but the answer is yes.”

Quinn smiled triumphantly and gave the girl a quick peck. “Thank you.”

Rachel blinked, half-dazed. “You’re good at this.”

Quinn shrugged. “I learned from the master.”

“Aren’t they adorable?”

Rachel whirled around, her face beet red. “Are you two turning eavesdropping into full-time jobs?!”

“We weren’t eavesdropping!” LeRoy said defensively, “We came to tell you that dinner is served.”

Rachel gave Quinn a hopeful look and the blonde rolled her eyes. “You win.”

“Yay!” the brunette cheered cutely, giving a small jump.

“You managed to pull her out of that book?” asked Hiram.

“You bet I did. Power of persuasion!” Rachel said enthusiastically before grabbing her bejewelled CD player and skipping out of the room.

Hiram and LeRoy gave Quinn a suspicious look as the sound of Rachel’s penny loafers dissipated.

“You got the crib you wanted, didn’t you?” Hiram smirked.

Quinn shrugged. “What can I say? I’m the master.”

 

xxx

 

“Stars shining bright above you

Night breezes seem to whisper, ‘I love you’

Birds singing in a sycamore tree

Dream a little dream of me.”

Rachel swayed in front of the fireplace in the Berry’s den and held the microphone out to her girlfriend. Quinn accepted, wrapping her hand around the black plastic and shyly singing into it.

“Stars fading but I linger on, dear

Still craving your kiss

I’m longing to linger till dawn, dear

Just saying this.”

Hiram and LeRoy sat with their legs crossed on the quilted sofa and glanced dreamily at each other while Rachel came in closer to Quinn, the girls’ faces nearly touching at the head of the microphone as they sang together.

“Sweet dreams till sunbeams find you

Sweet dreams that leave all worries behind you

But in your dreams, whatever they be

Dream a little dream of-”

Quinn suddenly gasped and the singing halted. Her eyes widened and she put a hand to her stomach.

“What is it?” Rachel asked urgently.

Quinn smiled broadly and grabbed Rachel’s hand, placing it on top of her belly. “Feel that?”

Rachel nodded, keeping one hand firmly placed on Quinn’s stomach, and one hand on her own chest, her eyes fluttering.

“What happened?” asked LeRoy, the two men standing, alert.

“Did he kick?” asked Hiram.

Quinn nodded, her smile exuberant. The girl was close to tears, too excited to speak. Rachel put both hands on the girl’s stomach, looked into Quinn’s tearful eyes and smiled.

“I think this means he’s a fan of Mama Cass,” said LeRoy.

Hiram scoffed. “I think this means he’s a fan of his mothers’ voices.”

“You were enjoying the music, huh?” Rachel asked in a near whisper. Quinn’s heart swelled when she realized the brunette was speaking to their child. “I bet you can’t wait for your first musical dinner.”

Quinn watched Rachel listen and feel intently to her stomach, her hands wavering over the loose fabric of her day-dress. Quinn put one hand over Rachel’s and squeezed.

“Of course he is,” replied the blonde, “He’s a Berry, after all.”

“I’ll get it,” said LeRoy, patting his husband’s shoulder before leaving the den.

Quinn continued to smile at the brunette cooing over her stomach as the sound of LeRoy answering the front door just barely registered in her head. The low voice that followed sent a jolt into Quinn’s memory that brought her out of the magical moment she’d been having.

“I’m here to see my daughter.”

Her father’s gruff tone carried all the way from the hallway and shattered the ground below her.

 


End file.
